Fixations
by MathisMagic
Summary: The Flash is rescued from the Legion of Doom by the turncoat villain Tigress. Things go downhill from there as she brings in other members of Wally's old 'Team' to combat a mysterious force that is eliminating the Wally Wests of every universe. Spitfire. Team and Original 7 centric. Spoilers for Endgame.
1. Hallucination and Emancipation

**AN: **

I apologize in advance. I'm not particularly prolific, and this is my first extended fic. I have several thousand words written, and should get more done this week over spring break, but it'll be tough once school starts up again, so heads up.

One of the things that most slows me down is my frustration with 'getting it right' so if someone would do me the favor of beta-ing for me, I'd be forever grateful, and would probably be able to get this out faster.

Feedback, even criticism, feeds my motivation, so I'd love to know what you think!

**Spoilers for Endgame**

**The lovely image for this was provided by the amazing IronicVeghead over on Deviant Art. **I highly suggest you check out her art - especially her adorable spitfire works.

End Game happened and Nightwing's not JLU.** Obviously, I own nothing.**

Prologue: Hallucination

His world is black and red and _pain._

"Who are you? What is your name?"

"M'Flash." True. He's pretty sure this is true. But it's not what they're asking. He can't shake the feeling it's very important he sticks with this answer, though.

"What is your watchtower access code?"

"Only leaguers 'lowed on the 'tchtower."

There's a snap, and pain blurs his vision anew.

"Not getting… losing it… break for now… heal… 'Gress you'll get 'im fixed up."

"Perfect."

Footsteps, a door, and sudden quiet. He's alone now, and the part of his brain that's coming into fuzzy focus relaxes. There won't be much extra pain for the time being.

Scratch that. One of the Legion's villainesses is still here, and his eyes focus on the syringe in her hands. She approaches, and rather than look at another one of his tormentors he closes his eyes and braces the best he can for another round.

He feels the needle in his arm as the woman leans close. She whispers in his ear.

"Hang tight, this shot will help kick start your metabolism. I'm going to get you out of here, Wally."

His eyes snap open and alight on an amber necklace before traveling up to her face. Through the pain, and confusion and exhaustion, his heart stutters. He breathes.

"Artemis?"

Ch 1: Emancipation

She wanted to cry when they caught him. When she saw what they did to him. (When she couldn't save him.)

He wasn't _her _Wally. She knew that. But this man wore his face, his cowl, (his cheesy-can't-help-but-love-it grin). The hell with her cover. She would not allow any Wally West to be tortured (or worse).

It was easy to hack the guard list, and ensure she was assigned to be his guard rotation. It was harder to ensure she was prepared for the opportunity. A USB containing copies of every file and plan of the Legion's she could get her hands on was in her belt. The syringes used to sedate her 'patient' had been swapped for a vitamin-antibiotic-adrenalin cocktail to get the Flash at least somewhat on his feet. Cameras were set to loop feed. Patrol details had been subtly reassigned to create gaps. Most importantly, the Legion trusted her, at least as much as a legion of super villains can trust. She had surprise on her side.

It had taken too long, and would cost much, but finally, _finally _she could end his suffering. For _her _Wally. Already she could see his metabolism reacting to the serum. His breathing evened out, his shaking slowed. She even though she could see some of his wounds beginning to pull together. He must have developed hyper-accelerated healing like Barry. Perfect.

"Hang tight, this shot will help kick start your metabolism. I'm going to get you out of here, Wally."

His eyes snapped open, a deep green, like Megan's skin, like her old arrows, like _his _ eyes – but it's not the time for that thought. She hoped he was as trusting as her Wally, that he would let her get him out and not try to fight her-

"Artemis?"

…

…

…

No.

It wasn't possible. (It couldn't be.)

_He _wasn't here. It was (somehow) a coincidence.

He wasn't… she wasn't… he _wasn't here._

She needed to kill this hope now, before it broke her later.

"Yeah Baywatch. Your ninja girlfriend's here to save you from her evil ninja clan."

"S'long as you're traught. 'Cause don't wan' ya dead 'gain."

_Get traught, or get dead!_

It was _him._

He was _here…_

After all this time, this _was _her…

Priorities. She had a limited window of opportunity, and she would not waste this chance. (She would not lose him again).

"Yeah, I'm traught. I know you're not feeling the aster right now, but I need you to stay whelmed. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

"Whelmed. Gotit. Lead th' way, Arty."

Focus. Release the cuffs. Help him stand. Check - feed's still looping, hallway's empty, patrols are on schedule.

"Alright, lets get out of here."

It's slow going. His arm is over her shoulders and they're limping down every back hallway and antechamber she knows of to help them avoid detection. Luckily, he's able to take more of his own weight at every turn, limping less, and moving faster. Thank god he's developed accelerated healing since they've come here. They might even make it out of here without –

"Escape Alert! All Members of the Legion of Doom: Search Priority Alpha. Find and detain the Flash."

Of course. And they only had two corridors to go. But now she can hear a ruckus between them and the main door. Plan B it is. He staggers a little as she picks up the pace, dragging him down a side hallway in the opposite direction of the commotion. Front door's out, but if Robin taught her anything (besides how to butcher the English language) it's how to make her own door.

"Well, well ,well. If it isn't the Tiger bitch." A lithe figure dropped to the ground in front of them. Artemis growls under her breath and Cheetah bares her teeth and extends her claws. "Gone soft, kitten? Trying to help the little hero escape?"

_We do not have time for this, _Artemis thinks as she leans Wally against the wall, never taking her eyes form her opponent. At the same time, she slides a hand to her back and grasps her sword. When Cheetah lunges, Artemis _moves._

The cat-villain is out of her league, and Artemis easily blocks claws with her sword, twisting them to the side. This leaves Cheetah open for a sedative-coated senbon to be stuck in her shoulder. She's down and out for the count in less than thirty seconds, but it's enough time for others to locate them.

Metallo crashes around the corner, and she dodges his right hook. A flipping sweep takes out the cyborg's legs, but as she rolls to ready her next attack she sees movement in the corner of her eye. Gorrilla Grodd has a gun aimed at her chest. He doesn't waste the shot with a monologue. Just a smirk. Then the gun cracks. Red fills her vision.

She's in Wally's arms, face pressed into the chest of his Flash suit. They're standing in a different hallway than before.

"Won't let him… touch you, not that… darned dirty ape." He huffs into her hair.

She snorts. He always had to have the witty comeback.

"Thanks for the save, but lets save the references for after we get out, alright, Kid Mouth?"

She looks up as he nods. A quick glance shows her what that escape cost them and she becomes serious again. His face is white with pain and he has to lean against the wall to keep himself from slumping to the floor. And – is his side a darker red than the rest of his suit? She knew his sessions had snapped a couple of ribs. Even with his healing, that run must have snapped them again. If one pierced his side, their escape had only become more urgent. And now he'll have used up most of the boost her serum gave him.

His eyes say he knows he's in trouble. It was definitely too soon for him to try that, but he's not going to mention the new points of screaming pain until they – _she_ – is out safe.

"You did good, Baywatch. This is an outer wall. A few charges…"

"And we make a door Supey-style." His smile is more grin than grimace despite the pain.

"Yeah, just like Supey." She agrees, and begins assembling the charges from her supplies.

She's almost done when a beam of light blasts her back.

"Going somewhere?" Sinestro hovers menacingly, blocking the only exit to this corridor.

Damn it. Artemis doesn't have anything in her arsenal to take on the yellow Lantern. She might be able to distract him… Wally could get away…

She throws the last charge at Sinestro, and presses the trigger.

She's slammed into the floor at Wally's side as debris blows over them from two sides. Sinestro was too close to the last charge though. He had been forced to raise a shield. She rolled to her feet, ready to cover Wally's escape.

"Oh, hey." Cough. "My Comm's working now. Watchtower this is," Cough. "Flash."

Sinestro is up, and unharmed from the explosion. She can't take him on. She doesn't know his weakness…

"Teleportation. Yeah. Me and the person next to me."

He's going to blast her again. Wally's behind her, she won't dodge. Just bring her sword up to try and block…

"Now!"

"Wha-?" Artemis's world dissolved, and she stumbled as she materialized on the watchtower's teleportation platform. "Ugh."

"Release the Flash, Tigress. You can't possibly hope to take us all." What? Oh, right. She's a villain. Who materialized in the home base of the Justice League. In front of dozens of heroes. While standing over a bleeding founding member. With her weapons drawn. Not good.

" 'Lax guys. She's 'kay. She's my ninja girlfriend."

She had forgotten that she didn't always miss Wally's big mouth.


	2. Interrogations

Ch 2: Interrogations

**AN: **Wow guys. I am _over_whelmed at your response. Thank so much to everyone who favorited and reviewed and such. It really means a lot to me. Y'all were so good to me that I felt guilty about holding on to this and I finally caved. So here's the next chapter! Unfortunately, this will probably just mean a longer gap when I finally run out of pre-written chapters/get back into the thick of things at school. Anyways, I really hope y'all enjoy this as much as you seemed to like the first chapter!

**As before, I own nothing, potential spoilers for anything in YJ, and a lot of JLU stuff, and thanks to IronicVeghead for letting me use her JLU Style Spitfire picture.**

" '_Lax guys. She's 'kay. She's my ninja girlfriend."_

With that, Flash slumps to the teleporter floor, the pool of crimson growing from his side obvious to all. The villain, Tigress crouches over him, and that's too much for John. He had more than enough willpower to protect Wally in his injured, confused state. A glowing green hand materializes and yanks the woman away from his friend before slamming her into the ground.

"I told you to stay away from him." He's knocked the wind out of her, but still she struggles in his ring's grip.

"He needs medical help." He snorts. As if he would loosen his grip on this torturer just because she expressed fake worry for Flash.

"Besides the obvious, he's got broken ribs, they'll need to check for punctured organs. Scan for drugs before you put anything else into his system. Except nutrients. His metabolism's undernourished, but if you can kick-start that and set the broken bones, he'll be able to start recovering some on his own."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you, girlie. We're just not going to listen to the one who did this to him." Hawkgirl advanced on her, brandishing her mace.

The dark-haired woman is clearly unimpressed. "Will you forget that? He needs medical, Stat!"

"Why I oughta…" Shayera raised her mace, ready to shut up the villain that had hurt her friend, her little brother so cruelly.

"No! Stop!" John focused back on the platform where J'onn was aiding a technician with Flash's wounds. The speedster is struggling against both his injuries and his Martian friend's firm hands. If John didn't know better, he'd think the man looked worried for the villain.

"Told ya. She's 'kay." The injured hero slurred again.

"Hush Flash. You need to conserve your strength." Wally continues to struggle against J'onn, but the technician jabs a needle in his arm, and the red-suited hero finally slumps into unconsciousness. "I'll take him to the sick bay. And it won't hurt to test her claims."

With their departure, the woman finally stops fighting him. Superman is running damage control, keeping the other heroes away from their wounded comrade and his tormentor, allowing the Green Lantern to advance on her.

"I'll take her to the detention cells. We'll find out what's going on." He announces to the room. He'd take the first crack at interrogating her. And he'd enjoy it.

XxXxX

"I told you. Contact Batman. I'm not saying anything until you let me see him."

"And I told you, you don't get to demand to see Batman any more than you get to demand to see Flash."

"Then I'm not telling you anything!"

Superman took a deep breath, and stalked out of the cell before he did something he would regret. He would _not _harm her. Especially not after dealing with the Question's insinuations for the past two weeks of Flash's disappearance. They had all been frantic, of course, but Question in particular seemed convinced this would push him into becoming Lord Superman. But their friend was safe, and stable. _He would not kill._

"Six hours. It is impressive that we have been unable to get _anything _from her in that time." J'onn intoned as Clark stepped into the observation room.

"Certainly not from lack from trying." They watched as Question took a turn with the prisoner.

"_Something tells me you have some of the answers to the conspiracy. I just need the right questions."_

"_Aren't you the one dating Huntress?"_

"_No, I do not believe that is the question that needs to be asked here."_

The woman cracked up, as if she was aware of some inside joke.

"So her first statement not about Batman or Flash is about Q's love life? What does that tell us?" The Man of Steel wondered.

"Not the Question's love life. Huntress's," came a growl from the corner. It seemed the Dark Knight had finally deigned to grace them with his presence.

"Gosh darn it, Bruce. I hate when you sneak up on us like that."

"What do you mean, she was asking about Huntress?" Batman ignored them both, instead examining the feed from the interrogation room.

"Debrief. Now."

Clark sighs, but knows better than to test the man's recalcitrance in a situation like this. He would never admit it, but the dark hero had been worried about his comrade – his friend. Knowing Bruce, he had been pulling double shifts, using all of Batman's considerable resources to track down the missing hero who held the League together.

"About six hours ago, Flash's Comm and locator came back online. He requested immediate teleportation to the Watchtower for himself and the person next to him. Flash is stable and healing now, since you won't ask, but he was in a bad way when they first appeared. We don't know if she was the wrong person to grab, or if he was confused as to her intentions. Also, he called her his 'ninja girlfriend.'" Here he can't hold back a snort. "John detained her, and we've been unable to get much out of her since. She keeps asking to speak to you, actually. We thought it might be a trap."

"J'onn?"

"I do not know how, but her mind is guarded from mine. It is almost as if she is familiar with how Martian telepathy works… We have also been unable to hail Wonder Woman since she left to tap her resources in Themyscira. We felt it best to continue manual interrogation until Diana could return with her Lasso."

The Dark Knight sighed with… Clark would label it weariness if he didn't know any better. "Pull Question out. I'll speak to her." He turned towards the door only to find the Martian blocking his way.

"Batman, I must protest. This could be a trap."

"It's not, J'onn."

"But Bruce, you don't know-!" Batman waved away the Kryptonian's protest.

"Yes, I do."

XxXxX

If she hadn't worked with the Bat for so many years, she wouldn't have known he was there. It was his style, intimidating his 'victims' with imposing silence, steely glares, and his infamous tendency to appear as if from no where. She remembered how impressed she had been the first time she met him in person. She had never seen anyone move like him. Not Jade, not Sportsmaster, not any of the Shadows she had come across in the early years of her training. The trick became less impressive after she spent years watching Robin do the same thing from his own eyes via mind-link. She could usually track such movements now. But there were more important matters to attend to than her own musings.

"How is he?"

Silence Still. Oh, she was not playing this game. Not right now.

"Quit the Big Bad Batglare already. I don't regret breaking cover and I'm not sorry I saved him." She folded her arms and returned his glare.

He looked away, turning to stare at his own reflection in the one-way glass to the observation room. "You should have contacted me. We would have gotten him our without compromising your position."

"They were torturing him!"

He turned back to her, sharply. "And if they had caught you?"

"There is _nothing,_" she said vehemently, "that they could do to me that would hurt as much as losing him again."

"You allowed your emotions to cloud your judgment. He may look like your Wally-"

"He _is _my Wally."

If there was such a thing as stunned silence, this was it.

"Explain." Batman recovered quickly, snapping out the order.

She closes her eyes as the hope, relief, and love of that moment comes crashing back to her. It threatens to break the barriers that held her together through the last few hours of interrogation; through the last few years of this life…

"He recognized me, when I went to free him." She opened her eyes to stare the Batman down. "He told… he told me to get 'traught."

She could swear he was raising an eyebrow behind that cowl.

"To us, it was the opposite of 'distraught.' I- there's a story to it, okay?"

"You will give a full debrief later." He says, but it seems that finally, finally, he's satisfied enough to answer _her _question. "He's stable and healing. Given his metabolism, I estimate he will be awake in the next half hour."

And this time, the walls around her heart do crumble. She sinks into the chair and puts her head in her hands, fighting the urge to just cry. He's _here _and he's _safe _and they're both alive… Did the lights in the room just get brighter? For the first time since she came to this place, she has more than just herself to depend on. Heck, she has more even than just hope. She has a tangible _chance _at something she didn't before: a happy life, where she can be herself, and not just the villain Tigress.

"Green Lantern will likely be heading down to the Med Bay to be there when Flash wakes up. He can escort you to see Wally."

"Thank you. So much." She murmurs. She's willing to play nice now that he had made his own concessions. "The League confiscated my things, but there should still be a USB in my belt with copies of every Legion file I could get my hand on."

"I'll retrieve it now." He unlocks the cell door and steps out. "Oh, and Tigress? Good job." He disappears with a swish of black cape.

She grins.


	3. Corroboration

Ch 3: Corroboration

**None of the previous disclaimers have magically stopped applying.**

XxXxX

John's annoyed when he gets Batman's page to return to the detention level, and downright furious when the man tells him what he wants.

"I am _not _going to escort a known villain to the med-bay just because she wants to see the man she helped torture!" Batman tries to pass him, but John punches the wall, cutting off his exit.

"She was not one of his tormentors. She was his rescuer."

"What, she told you that and you just believed her? Since when does Batman trust anyone's word, much less a villain's?" Damn this man and his cryptic insecurities.

"Since he's apparently been working with her even before this." Clark came striding around the corner, his furious look matching his tone.

His eyes snapped back to the black cowl. "What?"

The Man of Steel joins him in leveling a glare at the Caped Crusader that would leave lesser men cowering in fear. "She's been feeding him information on the Legion. He even told her his Secret ID!" That can't be true. If there was one thing John knows about Batman, it's that Batman doesn't trust. Not anyone. Heck, if it weren't for the Invasion, he doubts any of them would have ever learned the Bat's true name.

"Technically, I didn't tell her."

"That's not the point, Bruce! You've been keeping secrets. Big ones. Again."

"Clark's right. You can't keep doing this! I will not compromise the safety of the Watchtower, of Wally, just because some woman who knows your name has been passing you info."

"Do you even know what she's been doing for the Legion? How many she's hurt or killed to 'maintain cover' for you?" _Like Wally_, he thinks. "God Bruce, I know you're all about the mission, but I thought you were against killing; do you think it doesn't count just because it's your lackey instead of you pulling the trigger?"

"Do NOT imply that I killed – that I even allowed killings – again." Batman nearly shook with rage as he stared down the most powerful beings on the planet. "Tigress designed her skill set to be as minimally damaging to us as possible while still gaining enough trust to get the information we needed. Don't think I didn't monitor her as closely as I monitor you all."

"You monitor _us?" _

"Of course." Because Batman _would_ think monitoring his friends and allies, his fellow heroes, was an obvious course of action.

"If I may put in my own opinion on the matter?" In the heat of their argument, no one had noticed J'onn phase through the floor from the detention center. "I agree that Batman has crossed a line, and it needs to be discussed. Rationally. But we are three people too short to have this discussion. We should convene a full meeting – after the Flash has healed – so that Batman and Tigress may explain how and why they planted a mole within the Legion of Doom. In the mean time…"

Here, he hesitates; something John had never seen the Martian do.

"I believe we should allow Tigress to see Flash. I had previously believed that the worry emanating from her was for her own situation. Given her relief upon learning of the Flash's health and the emotions I felt from Wally when they appeared, I believe we should allow her to see him. Then Batman can explain some of the things that have transpired between them. He's 'her' Wally?"

"That's not my secret to share."

"Because that's stopped you before." John mutters under his breath, but lets it drop. He's still angry, furious, but he could see J'onn's point. And he does want to see Wally, so he'll play along. "Fine, I'll take her down to see him."

"But we _will_ be discussing this later. At length." Superman asserts.

"As you say." The Dark Knight turns and strides away, somehow managing to make it feel as if _they _were the ones retreating instead.

He runs his hand over his head, a habit he picked up before the Marines made him crop his hair. "I'll go escort the prisoner – Tigress – to the Med Bay then."

"I wish you well. I must return to the Monitor Station. I have been absent too long as it is." With that, the Martian phases through the ceiling of the corridor.

Superman turns to him. "Take care of him, okay John? If Bruce says she's trustworthy, she probably is, but…"

"I won't let him hurt our favorite speedster. I don't believe in Question's doomsday theories, but even I know how many people would be… upset if something happened to him. I think these past few weeks have proved that."

"True enough. I'll see you for the meeting later, then. I need try to raise Diana again. Make sure she knows what's going on, and everything."

John leaves him at the first intersection, heading to the vil- Tigress's cell. He pauses in the doorway to study his friend's 'ninja girlfriend.' Her back is to him, and her head is bowed. She doesn't react to him, just plays with her necklace, but he doesn't doubt that she's aware of his presence. Not with how easily she noticed Batman. Her sword, belt, and other equipment had been confiscated, but they had left her mask. She had removed it almost immediately and it still lay on the table. Her costume was covered in now-browning dried blood, contrasting with her suit, which was a bright orange that John might have called gaudy if he hadn't spent so many years working with the Scarlet Speedster. He clears his throat and she looks turns to look at him.

"I'm heading down to see Wally, if you want to come with me."

She pushes her long, dark hair out of her face and nods. "Thank you."

He's not going to let her at his back, so he doesn't let her follow him. Instead, they walk side by side. She picks up enough of his body language to look confident as they take each turn and intersection. Luckily, the few heroes they pass are dissuaded from questioning her freedom by his glowing green gaze and general 'do not question me right now' aura.

They're almost to the last set of elevators when she stops suddenly.

"Problem?"

"This door, it leads to the cafeteria, right?"

"How did you…?" It makes him nervous that she might know the layout to the Watchtower.

"Wally will complain less about waking up in a sick bed if he has something to eat."

That's true enough, and he allows their path to detour through the mess hall. He watches her pile a tray with random, but seemingly carefully chosen, food items. He does note that by the time she seems ready to continue, she's covered all of the major food groups on the tray. Even dessert. It's this that allows him to think that maybe she really did know Wally before… something.

Wally's awake when they make it to his room. He's talking to an obviously relieved Shayera.

"So then I was like, no soap, Clock Radio! Get it? 'Cause… Oh, hey GL! Come to visit me on my apparent death bed?"

"More like I've come to rescue poor Hawkgirl from your big mouth, Hot Shot."

"Hey! Shayera likes my stories! Right Sis?"

"You just keep telling yourself that, _Little Brother._"

"Ouch Shay. I said I was sorry! It's not like I _meant_ to get caught by the Legion of Doom."

"That doesn't mean you didn't take unnecessary risks. Sometimes I think we oughta- what is _she _doing here?" Hawkgirl had finally noticed his unwanted companion, who was hovering in the doorway uncertainly.

"Artemis!" Flash's obvious joy at her presence just barely kept Shayera from making threats against the orange-clad woman, who gave the speedster an odd smile and hefted her tray.

"Hey Baywatch. I see you've been able to stay out of trouble without me around."

"Hey, that's not totally on me. How was I supposed to know the Legion had upgraded to unstoppable ninja babes? Last I knew they were still on the balding billionaire/grumpy gorilla models."

John decides he should cut this conversation off. He feels like he's missing things, and doesn't like it. "That's still not an excuse for what happened. You can't keep rushing into these things."

"Not you too!" Wally groans and falls back into his pillows. "Is everyone going to give me these lectures? You weren't even there!"

John and Shayera share a glance. They both know that Flash has been a little… coddled since they almost lost him during the Cadmus incident. But now that everyone knew what he meant to the League, to the World, and had almost lost him… Question was most vocal about it, but consciously or not, no one in the League wanted that to happen again, and he was clearly getting fed up with it. But to get into that discussion while the younger hero was still lying in a hospital bed after being tortured for weeks? Not at the top of his to-do list. Luckily, Tigress had seemed to have it under control.

"Can you blame them for worrying about you? You have this uncanny ability to worm your way into everyone's hearts."

"Yeah, I know what that's like." The speedster replies, looking pointedly at Tigress. She fidgets with her necklace again under his stare. "GL, Shay? Can we have a little time alone?"

"No way!"

"Yes."

"What? John, you can't be serious!"

"I'll explain outside, okay?"

Hawkgirl's eyes narrow, but she stands to follow the Green Lantern out of the room. She pauses directly in front of the other woman on her way out, though, and stares straight into her eyes. "Do. Not. Hurt him."

"I won't." And there's enough passionate honesty there that she continues on out, leaving a villain with the hero that considers her his big sister. That she _might _consider her little brother.

The door slides closed behind them, and finally they're alone, if likely monitored. She'll take it.

"I, uh, brought you your favorite." She says, hefting the tray. Then, smirking, she adds, "Everything."

"Babe, you rock my world."

"You remembered!"

"Hey, I remember things."

"Just not Valentine's Day?"

Their affected enthusiasm drops. He closes his eyes and covers his mouth with his hand. "It really is you. I wasn't sure, once I started getting over the drugs and the blood loss, if I had just dreamed it…"

She nods, and takes his hand in her own. "No. It is me. And you."

"Babe, please forgive me. I thought I was going to die, in the Arctic. Instead…I wound up here… I didn't know how to get back. How to find you. I had to make a new life…"

"I don't blame you. No one else will, either. We thought… there were no traces of zeta energy. You should be dead. We would have looked for you otherwise. We wouldn't have ever stopped… You know Nightwing and I would never have given up. No one in the Team, the League, would have…" And she's crying now, for the years and tears that were wasted. Because her stupid, self-sacrificing, _wonderful _boyfriend had to save the world one more time.

"Babe. Arty. Look at me." She turns back to him, but her eyes are down cast. Gently, he cups her face, and forces her eyes to meet his. "You didn't know. _We _didn't know. So we had to move on with our lives, and that's okay."

"Right. Move on…" And there was a fear she hadn't even considered. Wally was just so… Wally. He needed to be around people, and certainly the others could see how amazing he was. She knew the Flash was a flirt, but how much of that was persona, and how much was Wally? Had he taken any of them up if they asked him out? Would he still want to, now that she was here with him again? "I … Do you… still love me? Is there someone else? I… I'd understand. I'll back off."

"No! Beautiful, there's no one else. I tried to get over it, there were a few flings, but it's been hard. No one else ever come close to measuring up to you."

"Yeah, I know what that's like."

"Hey, happy smiles only. I still love you, you still love me, it's all good."

"I don't know can you say that. They hurt you, Wally. They hurt you so much…"

"Hey, it was worth it. I got to be rescued by my Angel. You know – they live on the moons of Lego? They're said to be the most beautiful creature in the world…"

"Ugh! You promised you would never bring up the Star Wars prequels in front of me. Even to flirt."

"Hey, all's fair in love and fandom rivalries. Dialogue is one of the many reasons Star Trek will always be superior to Star Wars."

"Please, the prequel trilogy barely counts – and I know you're trying to distract me, Trekkie."

"Trekker! I'm a Trekker." She's silent, but her stare says everything to him. "Really, Beautiful, I'm fine. You're here to chase the bad thoughts away for me, aren't you? In fact, I'd say I'm actually pretty lucky. I bet I'm the only one who can see what you really look like here. I get to keep your gorgeous face all to myself."

"Are you saying Tigress is unattractive? Well, no snacks for you then." She says playfully, pulling away the yet-untouched tray of food. God she had missed his smile, his ability to crack jokes in any situation. She knows she shouldn't let him deflect, but joy is what they need right now, or they're both going to spiral down into the darkness of 'what ifs.'

"Ar-te-mis!" He whines. "You know I'm not good enough with words to dig myself out of that kind of hole. And I'm hungry!" She laughs at his antics and leans over to kiss his pout away. It's so much like old times. Like good times.

"You're right. I do know that. Just eat before I change my mind again."

"As you command, My Lady." He affects a fake bow and complies. They may joke about him eating and liking everything, but as he picked through the food, he noticed there was a definite trend towards foods he preferred, mixed in with high-nutrient foods that would best help his metabolism. Just what the speedster doctor ordered. When he picks up a bowl of mixed fruit, he can't help but grin. He quickly pulls out every strawberry in the pile and puts them on a separate plate before offering it to Artemis. "Are these still your favorite?"

A grin splits her face and she takes them. He _really does_ remember. "They are. Thank you."

"Just like old times." He grabs her hand and twines their fingers together. They share a look, and though pain and sadness permeate both their gazes, there is more than a small spark of happiness.

"Yeah, just like old times." Their hands twine, and they attempt to kiss the hurt away.

XxXxX

**An**: That's right. I went there. Because Wally would know the 'No soap, clock radio' jokes. Who's laughing with us?

Also, I mean no derision towards either Star Wars or Star Trek. In the comics, Wally has a model of the Enterprise in his room, so he must be a Trekker. It's my head canon that Artemis (who we always forget is actually very smart – especially at science) is secretly a Star wars fans, and it's one of the things the two snipe at each other for; the other's 'clearly inferior taste in sci-fi.'

**Unrelated request:**

You guys are already so wonderful that I hate to ask anything else of you, but I need a favor. So, for my HASS class, Fans and Fan Culture, I have to write a research paper on an international aspect of fan culture. I chose fanfiction. I was wondering if any of my readers, especially my non-US readers, would be willing to answer a few questions about their thoughts on and experiences with fanfiction? It shouldn't take long and you only have to answer what you want, but it would help me out a lot. Thank you guys.


	4. Ruminations

Ch 4: Ruminations

**AN: **Ugh. I hate this chapter. I'm not good at brooding. That's why I like writing Wally. Anytime something is starting to get serious – Boom! I can count on him to make a joke and derail the whole thing. Anyways, I've had this written for weeks, and wanted to get this to you sooner, to thank you guys for being so awesome and helping me with my paper (although I would still appreciate other people answering some questions!). I've just been hosed all week with tests, and I just… never got happy with this. Please, please, please tell me what you think is wrong with this. In excruciating detail, if you must. I really think I should re-write this…

XxXxX

While outwardly as stoic as always, on the inside, J'onn's emotions churned. Luckily, the Martian was more than capable of multitasking. It was not difficult to introspect while simultaneously making up for his absence form the bridge these past few hours. Not that there was much to do. Mr. Terrific seemed to have done an excellent job keeping things running while he took care of things with Flash and Tigress. Even so, it didn't hurt to recheck everything. His family and his new home depended on him to keep things running smoothly for the league; he couldn't slack off out of concern for just one person.

Though to be fair, that one person's well-being certainly affected the well-being of many others.

He may still not understand humans particularly well, but he understood _relationships. _He knew that Wally had become something like a metaphorical sun that many leaguers revolved around. Their light when the darkness in their world began to grow too strong. On Mars, the happiness of a mind like Wally's would be addicting – he would protected by all who came into contact with him. It didn't surprise J'onn that the League felt the same about their speedster. Anyone who had felt such genuine joy and kindness would want to keep it close.

And in that respect… J'onn believed The Question's doomsday predictions. Logic wouldn't let him blow them off. Especially when he thought of the other five founding members. Of his family.

John's feelings for Flash were obvious. The speedster was his best friend. He may complain about the 'Hotshot's' impulsiveness, but J'onn knew better. Could _feel _the truth whenever the two men interacted. In the beginning, Wally was the only person in the League John felt he could relax with. They were the only humans on the team (because even J'onn knew that Batman didn't count, not really). They could both appreciate sports, food, girls… Wally got John into video games and action movies; John tried to get some discipline into the speedster. Wally was always willing to listen to John talk about his travels in space, his work for both Corps, how he managed to screw up his relationships _this _time. John might think he was too controlled to go after Wally's killers, but J'onn knew there was a streak of hot-blooded soldier under the surface. He wouldn't let his comrade's –his friend's – killer escape unscathed.

Shayera was like John in that respect. She wouldn't _ever _say it out loud – she could barely admit it to herself, though J'onn could feel it from her without even trying to examine her mind – but she loved it when Flash called her his big sister. It felt… right. The young man certainly acted like the 'annoying little brothers' J'onn saw on TV sometimes. His inherent compassion also touched her soul-heart deeply. He was the first to accept her back after her people's Invasion. No, J'onn mentally amended. He never turned against her in the first place. How could she not care for him when he had such a trust in her? The fact that he worked so hard to help her fit back in after she decided to come back didn't hurt either. Admit it or not, Wally was her baby brother and she would not let _anyone _hurt him without facing retribution. It was not in her people's nature to let such slights pass. And honestly, Earth Justice wouldn't be enough for her. He knew she would kill to avenge him. Shayera had once explained that 'Flash' was the Thanagarian word for kill. Without Wally around to remind her of the good associated with the word, J'onn feared it would be all too easyto slip back into the solider she had been. And if the Invasion had taught him anything, it's that Thanagarians don't show mercy in war.

Diana would actually admit that she was fond of Wally. Diana was all about truth, honor and compassion, and Wally had those things in spades. Plus, while his flirtations often annoyed the Amazon, he never pushed her buttons many of the other heroes did. He actually did the opposite. While J'onn didn't always understand the problem, he did know that more often than not, John or Clark or (usually) Bruce did something that left the Princess stomping around cursing 'men and their stubborn pig-headedness.' Then Wally will zip up to her with a corny joke, or a too-honest-to-be-flirting compliment or a question because he doesn't understand something. Suddenly, Diana's laughing, or preening, or helping Flash because his problems are so much _simpler _than the emotional wrecks that are their fellow heroes. She once confided in him that these moments remind her that Man's World isn't _so _bad… that it's something worth defending. Wally's reminds Diana of the reasons she still fights, and the proud Amazon wouldn't let someone hurt that without retaliation.

Superman might be the loveably naïve Boy Scout most of the time, but he has an angry self-righteous streak just below the surface. When he sees injustice, and knows it's in his power to stop it, it's hard to convince him not to, even if his methods would be… questionable. Yet Wally always knows how to diffuse him. It's like he's used to dealing with stubborn, quick-to anger Kryptonians. J'onn once spent Christmas with Clark and his parents. He understood how the Man of Steel could associate Wally's Midwestern charm with all the good things that come with family. Superman would _probably _not kill just to avenge the Flash… but he probably wouldn't stop anyone else from doing the same. And it would only take one of the Kryptonian's outbursts without Wally to anchor him for Clark to make a terrible mistake, for him to start down the path to becoming Lord Superman.

And Batman… well. Ostensibly, Batman's only 'friend' was Superman, and even then, no one doubted the Dark Knight could and would drop the Man of Steel 8 different ways from Sunday should he decide the Kryptonian posed a threat. But the Flash was probably the only person the Batman actually _trusted. _Sure, he could go on about the tactical advantages of Wally's powers, improvisation, and unpredictability. What he really meant though, was, _Flash has my back. _Besides, he had noticed that Batman's glares were never really as harsh as they could be whenever Wally cracks his corny jokes. Wally pushes all of the Dark Knight's buttons in the best way, and the man will forever owe the speedster for bringing his little lightness into their darkest hero's life. It's no surprise that Lord Batman reacted the way he did. J'onn knew that their Batman would be the same, left unstable and vengeful for the loss of his light.

As for J'onn himself…

The Flash just _understood _the Martian better than the rest of them. He was the one that introduce the extra-terrestrial to the joys of Oreos. He was the one who tried to learn about Martian culture, and helped J'onn recreate Martian dishes and holidays here on earth. Wally was the only person he knew of who wasn't bothered by his telepathy. He had even suggested using it as a sort of mental comm link to improve secrecy and communications back when it was just the seven of them. The others had vehemently shot that idea down – they all had their own share of secrets to keep – but he was still touched by the suggestion.

It was hard, painful, being stuck inside his own head after a lifetime of only mental communication. But whenever it got too bad, Flash always seemed to be there, offering to let a him bounce around in the back of the younger hero's mind. The speedster had an unusually large mindscape for a human, and his thoughts were fast enough to feel like a network of minds rather than just the one. It was soothing and familiar, and gave him direct access to Wally's earnest happiness. The high from those times could keep him going for weeks. Like the others, he had to admit that he cared deeply for Wally as a person, as _family. _ Should someone hurt him… well. Minds are such _fragile _things really. He would enjoy taking apart anyone who took apart the Flash, before stepping aside and letting the rest his family finish them off.

An incoming call interrupted his macabre thoughts. It was Diana.

"I just received your hails. Tell me it's good news."

"Flash has returned, and should recover fully."

"Thank Hera! I was so worried…"

" I know. He brought someone with him. A vilainess of the League of Shadows."

"Was she the one that hurt him? Athena help her when I get up there…"

"No. We believe she was the one that rescued him. We'd like to confirm the veracity of that statement."

"Let me finish some things here. I can be back by tomorrow. With my lasso."

"Actually, we're calling an emergency meeting for the Council. People have been keeping dangerous secrets."

"What has Bruce done this time?"

"Apparently he sent this woman undercover as a villain and didn't think to mention it to us."

"Gods _damn _him."

"Although Wally has some explaining to do as well." And wasn't that a painful thought. How – why – would Wally of all people keep things from them?

Diana, too, looks surprised and hurt at that news. Finally, she sighs. "I'll tie things up quickly here. I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"I will see you then." She cuts the link and he holds in a sigh of his own. It had been too long since they had all been together. He wished it were under more pleasant circumstances.

Still, now that things were settled, he could afford to take a moment for himself. He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to fall into his familiar meditations. This focus allowed him to extend his empathic range. For a few minutes, he would allow himself to indulge his feelings and skim the edges of the love and happiness emanating from the Med Bay.

XxXxX

The room is dark, except for the glow of the computer screen, silent, except for the clicking of a keyboard, and calm, except for the man's churning thoughts. But can there really be darkness if there is light? Sound of there is silence? How then, can the man claim to be calm in the face of this newest revelation?

He analyzes the stolen data almost automatically. Abilities, weaknesses, bases, plans… it's all here. It is nothing to sort, to catalogue, to match up the teams that can most effectively eliminate their enemies, to predict which villains will run because of Tigress's defection, and where they will run too. No, the Legion and its member will be easily taken down now. That is not the issue at hand here.

Because their Wally is also _their _Wally.

This is not what he anticipated when the other-worlders approached him eight months ago. Batman hates the unanticipated.

_Let us protect Wally. _

_Let us infiltrate your villains._

_Let us give you the tech you need._

If the offer had come from anyone other than, well, himself, it would have been contemplated only long enough to find the motive and destroy whoever was behind such false promises. Instead, he decided to believe the other Bat and his colleagues. As it were, it took months of faithful reports (not to mention stringent trans-dimensional cross-referencing) for him to actually believe _in_ the interlopers.

And he did _not _agree to this because of the young man who came with the other Batman, the one with the easy smile and the brilliant plan and the aura of _understanding _his darkness and pain_. _The one that the other Batman _smiled _at. (The one that could have been _his_ son_._)

When Flash disappeared three weeks ago, the Dark Knight did not panic. Artemis would be able to find out who had him. When Artemis went twelve days without reporting back, he was concerned. When the Tigress and Flash's tracers both suddenly came online, even as the Watchtower locked down and began hailing him with emergency signals, he was simply annoyed. Flash's vitals were stabilizing before his eyes, and no secondary alerts were triggered. He could turn his attention to other matters for a few hours before dealing with the League.

When he finally arrived at the Watchtower, he was unsurprised by Superman's debrief of recent events, although the details were… interesting. He would be the one to later figure out that the Legion's base acted as a giant Faraday's Cage, interrupting and incoming or outgoing signals that weren't manually rerouted. When Artemis blew a chunk out of the wall electromagnetic waves were able to penetrate the fortress, and Wally was able to use the comm in his cowl to call for help.

When he went into the interrogation cell, he was intending to berate the woman for throwing away their plans. He was instead caught off guard by Tigress's revelation.

So now here he is, organizing an assault against many of their most prominent villains, and bracing for a _discussion _with his colleagues. It would not be hard to stonewall them, as always. And he honestly doesn't have all the answers, for once. Despite outward appearances, he _does _understand people. This is something they need to hear from Wally.

They'll be upset, because the Other Wally he's been told about is nothing like their Wally, but he should be. Do they even know him at all? Personally, Bruce is glad that Wally never said anything. Because they would have felt obligated to help him find his way home, and eventually they would have succeeded. And then they might have lost him all the sooner.

Batman is under no illusions. Wally will not be staying in this dimension. Artemis has dealt a critical blow to the Legion – the League will likely have a surplus of 'firepower' once they're taken care of, so Flash won't be obligated to stick around. There will be nothing to tie the lovable speedster here, nothing strong enough to withstand the pull of _home_. Where Wally has people who actually know him. Where he has speedster mentors and mentees that _understand _what life's like at the speed of light. Where he has life-long friends and a Team that looks up to him. Where he has aunts and uncles, cousins and nieces care for him. Where he has a girlfriend who loves him. Where he has parents. Where he has a real family.

Batman closes out his plans of attack, and rechecks the encryption on this computer. He needs to plan for Wally's departure. He'll need to re-examine his contingency plans for the other Leaguers, analyze the best arguments to win them over if the league divides over this... He doesn't think they'll go Lord because of this. They'll know that Wally is safe and happy; there won't be anyone to take vengeance on. Even so…

They might try to stop Wally from leaving. He doesn't _think _they're that selfish, but he's not wasted the other League's equipment. He's been watching other universes, trying to distill what information he could that was applicable in this dimension. And he's seen the things they _could _be. And _possessive _is one of those things.

But Wally deserved happiness. It wouldn't be fair if Bruce kept him from his real family.

He pauses in in preparations.

He activates a special communicator in his belt, and sends a quick message to the other Batman, while he was feeling generous. Because Batman didn't always do _fair._

He would need a contingency for himself.

XxXxX

She was ticked.

As if the past few weeks, the past few _hours _hadn't been bad enough, she now had to deal with the crap John just shared about Batman's newest conspiracy. She was so tired of that word. After months of the conspiracy with Cadmus, weeks of Question harping that the Flash's disappearance was part of 'The Grand Conspiracy'… she could have gone her whole life without dealing with another one. Damn better have a _very_ good reason to keep a conspiracy of his own from them.

Her anger had kept her away from medical for a couple of hours. She knew Wally would cheer her up, and right now, she just wanted to be angry. Diana was back though, and they were trying to get everything together to discuss their latest round of secrets and lies. A part of her felt guilty. Really, who was she to judge someone for betraying the trust of their loved ones? Then she remembered what Batman's secrets had done to her baby brother, and she became angry all over again.

In any case, she had to face him now. The medics needed to clear him to attend the meeting, and she had volunteered to babysit his _ninja girlfriend. _

She was surprised to see a crowd of people loitering outside Wally's hospital room. No, not just loitering. They were definitely staring through the observation windows, peeping on the room's occupants. Annoyed by the crowd's intrusive fascination, she elbowed her way to the window. "What is going on- oh."

And she really couldn't blame them for staring. This was too cute. The woman had, at some point, crawled up on his bed and buried her face into his chest. Her arms were wrapped around his neck; his around her waist, twining in her hair. She was on his uninjured side, somewhat facing the door, so it was clear that they were asleep. She had thought she knew what happiness looked like on the Flash. He _was _always happy. But his smiles had never looked like _this_.

She hated to interrupt them, but there were things to be done. She slips inside the room. The reaction is instantaneous.

Whether the woman hadn't actually been asleep, or if she just has strong reactive instincts, Shayera doesn't know, but the moment the door slides open, the woman half-rolls, half-vaults over Wally and the bed, landing in a defensive crouch between the speedster and the door. At some point she had acquired a scalpel, (and Hawkgirl would have to talk to the medical staff about leaving such dangerous things around where anyone could take them) which she now brandished at the room's intruder.

"Relax. Don't do something you're going to regret." Shayera runs a finger down her mace, but doesn't make any further moves towards Tigress.

To the woman's credit, she seems to realize what she's doing, eyes widening a fraction before relaxing her position. She carefully sets the scalpel down on the table and takes a step back from it. "I- sorry. Habit."

"We're gonna have to work on that particular habit, Beautiful. Not a fun way to wake up." Wally groans from the bed.

"I'm sorry." She rubs his good arm in apology. "Instincts like that are what keep you alive when you're neck-deep in an organization of villains."

"Right. I'm sorry." He looks dolefully into her eyes, and takes her hand in his.

"Not your fault." She whispers back. They hold each other's gazes for a moment, before turning back to Hawkgirl. Their fingers are still twined together.

"I'm sorry to… wake you. The doctors need everyone out so they can determine if you're free to go." Wally pumps his fist and cheers. She turns her attention to Tigress. "I thought you might want to shower and change. You'll both be debriefing after Wally gets cleared. It's probably not a good idea to go to the council, you know..." Wearing a villain's suit and covered in Wally's blood.

"I…" She hesitates, but Wally recovers for her.

"Babe, it's okay. I'll still be here when you get back. And if they're going to make you leave me anyways, I want you to at least make yourself more comfortable." She squeezes his hand and nods.

"I'll be quick. Don't leave again." _Don't leave me again._

"Never." With quick kiss, she follows Hawkgirl out of the room. Shayera pretends she doesn't see her glance wistfully back into the room as she steps over the threshold.

They make the trip to the nearest locker room in silence. Shayera shows her where the soap and towels are, and offers her a change of clothes. "I only have some of my spare civvies to offer you, but if that makes you feel uncomfortable, I can probably get your suit cleaned up pretty fast."

"No. Thank you. A pair of jeans and a shirt sounds perfect right now. In fact… you can probably throw that costume away."

"Distancing yourself from the villain?" Shayera could understand that. Her stay at Fate's tower and the introspection she did there helped her mentally sort out her loyalties, but she still couldn't bear to wear her Thanagarian helmet again. Costumes can hold too many regrets.

"Well, no. Tigress did hero work too. It's just… Tigress isn't needed anymore. She's just a placeholder. A cover. Artemis is Wally's partner."

"I see." She didn't. But she didn't know what else to say. Tigress – Artemis – seems to take that as a good moment to duck out of the conversation and into one of the shower stalls. Shayera waits on one of the benches, and tries not to let her mind wander to those darks days during and after the Invasion. Instead, she questions the other (heroine?) woman. "You two obviously go way back. How long have you known Wally then?"

"Oh, since we were fifteen." Her voice sounds different, but that might be the echoes of the shower. "You think he's a goofball now? You should have seen him back then. First time I see him? I'm just getting introduced to the team, and he comes running in decked out in swim trunks and carrying an armful of party gear."

"He tripped didn't he?"

"Bingo. He and the beach ball go flying. Comedic gold. Of course, he didn't really appreciate me laughing at him before I even knew him…We _hated_ each other back then."

That was surprising. "I didn't know it was possible for anyone to hate Wally. Or vice versa."

"Trust me, I feel the same way now. He's too sweet for that, right?"

"What changed?"

"We grew up and got over it. I… my family were all villains. No one should have trusted me. But Wally – in the awkwardest, most adorable way possible, mind you – walks up to me one day and declares that I'm 'a real part of the team and that he trusts me completely.'"

_She's leaving the league, but he stops her with a hug and a whisper. 'I'll miss you, Sis.'_

"Yeah. He's still doing that."

"Oh?"

"You know about the Invasion?"

"Which- oh. By Thanagar?"

"Yeah. Even after… everything. After I betrayed everyone and quit the League, he still called me family."

"He's good about that."

The water shuts off as she contemplates this woman who was similarly touched by the Scarlet Speedster. She wonders why they _needed _to be similarly consoled. She's just working up the courage to pry when Artemis finally steps out.

"What the Hell!" She finds herself brandishing her mace for the third time in as many hours.

The woman who just stepped out in her clothes is not the vill- heroine she had known these past few hours. Blonde tresses frame a soft face. Open, gray eyes convey a deeper surprise than sharp black ones ever could. Gentler curves have replaced the harsh lines of a warrior, although stance and muscle definition betray the fighter that's still there.

"Shayera! It's me. Here-" Shayera tenses, but she just pulls out her amber necklace and clasps it around her neck. Instantly, Tigress is back.

"Neat trick."

"Convenient for protecting your ID from the villains you're snitching on, at least." She removes the necklace and becomes Artemis again. "Er, is the meeting soon, or…?"

"Right. Follow me then, Blondie."

"I knew I should kept the necklace on! I'm never going to live my hair color down, am I?"

"Not a chance, Girlie."

They leave the locker room laughing.

**2nd AN:**

On Batman:

Nightwing once admitted that he wouldn't trade his life to get his parents back whereas Bruce… Bruce would. And to me, that's a very defining character trait. Batman _never _got over his parent's deaths, and his terrified of his loved ones leaving him. He also doesn't seem to get 'surrogate families' very easily – to me, it was very clear that in the JL universe that he wasn't emotionally invested in the League, and didn't understand the other's favorable emotions towards him. So don't take Batman's thoughts that seriously. I promise things end happy for everyone we care about.

On Updates:

I _hope _ I'll be abe to update this every week (probably on friday mornings) until mid-may. Then I'm going to have to take a break for finals and because I'm leaving for a symposium in Japan. When I get back, though, I'll be on summer break, and should be able to update more often. This story WILL be finished (I'm too excited about the epilogue for it not to be), but I think it's going to be a while before we get there. So thanks for all of your awesome reviews; they soothe my insecurities and convince me to keep writing.


	5. Narration

Ch 5 Narration

**AN: **I wish there were superheroes in real life. I'm going to ask another favor of you guys, if any of you are religious, will you please pray for Boston, and all the things happening here?

…

I hope you guys like this, as always and thanks for the great responses. It really makes my day when I see people enjoying this.

XxXxX

Wally was thrilled when the doctors cleared him to leave medical, though this was tempered somewhat when they explained he wasn't yet ready to return to active duty. On top of that, Superman was waiting for him as he stepped out of the Med Bay, meaning he couldn't zip off to find Artemis again.

"Don't look so put out. You're still recovering; it won't kill you to slow down and walk with me to the meeting." Clark rolls his eyes when Wally sticks his tongue out at the man. "C'mon. The more you stall to make faces the longer it'll be before we can meet up with your girl again."

"Right! What are we waiting for? I know you can move faster than that, Superman! Keep up with the fastest man alive." Clark's never seen the younger man this keyed up. Well, at least not in this way.

"You really love her, don't you?"

Wally stops vibrating and turns to the Kryptonian. "Don't you love Lois?" And Clark knows the answer. _More than anything. _

Wally changes the subject, and chatters on like usual as they approach the boardroom. Clark smiles and lets him. It gives him a chance to really look at his friend. To remind himself that he's back, and he's safe, and he doesn't need to hunt someone – Luthor – down. He had thought the man would be down and out for longer after their confrontations with him and Brainiac. Yet here he was, amassing power and threatening the people the Man of Steel cared about. Again.

He didn't approve of killing. He _didn't. _But so many villains just won't _stay _down. Bruce knew he was tempted, sometimes, but he doubted anyone knew just _how _tempting a permanent solution was to him. Ma and Pa wouldn't approve, but they were his parents, and he knew they would forgive him. They weren't enough of an incentive to stay his hand. The League would disapprove at first, but if the Lords proved anything to him, it's that they would succumb to their doubts and fall in line easily enough. Lois would be shocked, but they didn't have to be like the Lords. If they stayed out of the governments, only went that far with the worst of their foes… she might come around.

It was usually around this point in his musings that he ran into the real reason for his hesitation. Wally would be disappointed in him. Like Clark's parents, the speedster wouldn't stay mad at him, but he wouldn't follow him, or even stay out of the way. And he could just picture Wally speeding in to rescue some villain and falling… whether to betrayal by Superman's victim or to one of Clark's own unstoppable attacks, it wouldn't matter. So he would cut off that line of thought, and consider instead how to protect the world, protect his family, without compromising the morals his parents engrained him. The same morals Flash lived and defended with every step he took.

Laughter echoed down the corridor, cutting off Flash's explanation of how to make the perfect double-BLT.

"Artemis!" And suddenly his companion is gone from his side. Clark turns the corner to find him embracing a blonde woman in civilian clothing.

"Mm. Missed you too, Wallman." The woman finally responds when the two break apart.

Feathers brush against him, and Clark realizes Shayera had come to stand next to him while he stared. "I know. They're cute, right?"

"Yeah. That is Tigress, right?"

"Artemis. She prefers Artemis." She clarifies at his look.

"Oy, Supes!" He turns back to the couple. Their arms are loped around each other's waists, but they're focusing on him and Shayera now. "I want to introduce you to Artemis. Artemis, this is Superman. Try not to break him."

"No promises. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of this spaz for me."

And no matter the strange circumstances, his Ma raised him better than to be rude, especially to friends of friends. He takes her hand and shakes it, gently. "It was no problem. It's a pleasure to meet old friends of Wally's."

Suddenly, Batman round the corner and stalks past them, Green Lantern stomping angrily behind him. Shayera mutters to him, "Oof. Someone's still ticked."

"Can we get started already?" John grinds out, and they comply, following him into the room to see the other two founders already there.

"Wally! I'm so glad to see you safe!" Diana rises from her seat to offer the man a hug.

"'Course I am, Princess! Have more faith in the Fastest Man Alive!" He spins her around before speeding back to his seat by John, pulling Artemis into his lap. "So, what's up?" The mood sobers immediately.

"Why don't you tell us? Or better yet, Bruce can." John glares pointedly at Batman.

Artemis speaks instead. "It's not... don't blame Batman. I was the one who went to him, and who asked him to keep it secret." She shifts nervously under the gazes of the other six heroes, and Wally decides to stop her.

"Babe. I need to be the one that tells them. Where we're from. They– they deserve to hear it from me."

Artemis shifts to look him in the eye. "Of course. You're right."

"Er. I don't really know where to start." He looks at the assembled heroes – at his family – and tries to think of how to tell them that they don't know him. Not really.

Artemis understands his hesitation. "Start at the beginning. The Flash, of course." Of course. He takes a breath, and starts.

"When I was a kid, I knew that the Flash was the greatest hero there was." Eyebrows raise, because his family in this universe know him as the first and only Flash. "When I was ten, my aunt married the man that I quickly realized was the Flash. When I was thirteen, I reverse-engineered his super-speed experiment based on the product logs at his lab. I became Kid Flash, the third junior partner to a member of the Justice League."

"You're… from an alternate universe." John sounds as disbelieving as the rest of the League. They've dealt with alternate universes before. It shouldn't be unbelievable. But he supposes it's different to think about people you care about that way. That it's surprising to hear that your friend isn't who you think he is. Well, unless you're Batman, who appears as unflappable as always. But he needs to make them understand. They need to know everything. So before they can interject more, Wally holds up his hands. "I am. But please, let me finish."

So he does we he's always done best. He talks. He talks about befriending Aqualad, Speedy and Robin. He talks about _The Day _and Cadmus and strong-arming the League to get their own team. He talks about the team, and the Light and the 'Missing 16 hours.' About the invasion and Nightwing's plan. He talks about Artemis's 'death.' He talks about the North Pole.

"I never expected… when I stepped into that zeta tube to leave the watchtower, I thought it would be for the last time. I knew the math, the physics behind it. I knew, even at their incredible speeds, that Bart and Uncle Barry didn't have the kinetic energy to contain it, not without sacrificing themselves to an implosion of power. They needed another speedster. I had messed up the experiment when I gained my speed – I was never as fast as them, never fast enough to push the vortex over the edge and contain it… but I could be the one who fell in the gap between too slow and fast enough. One whose lagging speed would siphon off the excess energy… by letting the energy rip him apart."

"Oh, Wally." It's Diana who speaks, though all of their eyes are sorrowful. He doesn't want their sympathy. He doesn't regret saving his world, his first family.

Artemis is holding him, her face buried in his chest. He thinks she's crying. He does regret that.

"Forgive me, Beautiful." He strokes her hair. "I knew if I stopped to say goodbye to you, that I wouldn't be able to do it. And I couldn't let them die. Bart's just a kid. He's my baby cousin. And Uncle Barry… he's my hero. He was about to have babies with the second most wonderful woman in the world. He and Aunt Iris deserved it. The world needs the Flash. More than they needed some second-string speedster-wannabe."

"Hot Shot, you don't…"

"No, GL. It's the truth." Firm hands grasp his face; force him to stare into steely gray eyes.

"Don't ever say that again."

"But I-"

"No. I've forgiven you for that stunt. I understand why you had to do it, and that you would do it again if you have to. You wouldn't be the stupid boy who could trust – who could love – a villain's daughter if you didn't. But you need to know how much you're worth. Not just to me. Be chalant about your life – you can't just sacrifice yourself needlessly. You've seen the Lords."

He searches her eyes, but there is no yield to them. "Yeah."

"Then you don't do it again. Not without a better reason than 'I'm not important.'"

"Listen to her, Wally." And Shayera's using her big sister voice. No fair. They know he can't say no to either of them, much less both.

"But, I mean. I know you'd miss me; I love you guys too! But you wouldn't… do that. We've seen how that turns out…" They're carefully avoiding eye contact with him now. "You guys can't!"

"But we _would_," Superman whispers, face falling into his hands.

Wally doesn't know what to say to that. Luckily, he's always been good with deflection. "Does anyone care how I popped up here instead of… disintegrating? Because I know Bats is probably dying to compare my story to the energy readings logged on the Bat computer…" And that glare tells him that this might not have been the safest change of conversation. Effective though.

"How do you know that?"

"Er, when I first showed up here, I was looking for data on heroes, the League, trans-dimensional travel and the like. I figured Batman's systems would be most likely to have the information I needed."

"You… hacked Batman's computer." And even the J'onn's solemn face is twitching in either amusement or disbelief.

"Is it considered hacking if you have all the passcodes? I think it would actually be considered, like, remote access because technically-"

"Flash. How. Did you get. The codes?" Bats grinds out, obviously still ticked about his unauthorized access.

"Er, I told you I was best friends with Rob, for like, ever. He shared most of B's passcodes with me. I never woke up to a batarang at my throat, so I assume that was cool with him." Because there was no way the Dark Knight _didn't _know that someone outside the Bat Clan could see those files. "Bats' used the same codes here. Y'know, for such a clever guy, you're really predictable. You, B, and Lord Batman all used the same passwords… and shutting up now."

"Dare to dream." John mumbles.

Batman continues to glare at him, although the others mostly seem lost in thought. Finally, Diana asks a question he's been waiting for, although it still hurts. "How long have you been here? Did you… did you replace our Wally?"

"I've been here since about six months before the Invasion that brought us together. And as far as I can tell, there _was_ no Wally West here before me. I am _your _Wally. But I'm also _their _Wally. I'm … me." He finishes lamely. Artemis is holding his hand in hers again. John puts a hand on his shoulder.

"And we're glad you're you, Hotshot."

"Thanks." He's quiet for a moment, before realizing he should continue. "Anyways, once I realized, one, there's no League to go to and two, I didn't exist here, I realized that I didn't really have any one else to go to. I decided to make a life for myself, and hope a League would form and share tech soon."

"Your records are impeccable for someone who didn't exist before a few years ago."

"You know you're allowed to actually _ask _questions, Bruce," he grumbles. Silence is his only reply.

He sighs. "I knew if I got into the hero biz, my records would have to be perfect. I knew Bats would eventually look into me, and I didn't need him to be any less trusting than he already is. B made sure we could create fake identities for undercover work, and a simple paper trail wasn't hard to fake after years of having to do it on the fly for missions."

"Yet you chose not to give yourself your own credentials."

"Hey, you of all people should know that things get exponentially harder to fake if you want to look like anything special. There have to be _records_. Newspaper articles, school citations, blog postings… I'm not good enough to do all of that. Not to your level of scrutiny. So instead, Wally West became… average." And after a lifetime of striving to be special, to make people notice him, to make people proud… that was hard.

"For all intents and purposes, I got grades that were just good enough to get me through community college. My relatives left me just enough money to get an average apartment, but are dead now and can't be cross-referenced. My 'former employers' wrote letters of recommendation just good enough to scrape me a job as a Technician's assistant at Central's crime lab. And so on.

"Of course, after that, I couldn't just show up with the knowledge of, say, an expert biochemist. It would be too suspicious. So I became what the papers said Wally West was. When I was finally able to debut the Flash, I couldn't bear to be Kid Flash, or even the Flash the way my Uncle was. Luckily, Central loves their kind-hearted, goofball version of the Flash."

"Why keep this from us at all?" The disappointment and hurt in Diana's voice makes his toes curl. He hates that he lied to her. "You could have told us, we would have understood. I thought we were getting over keeping secrets like this."

"Because I'm _good _at focusing on the present. Because bringing it up would have hurt too much. For all of us." He whispers the last part. How could he tell J'onn that he knew the Mars he wistfully remembers because it was never destroyed in his universe? How could he tell Shayera that the earth he grew up on is at peace with Thanagar; that she's happily married and respected by her people? How could he tell Bruce that he could have had a family, that the Batman he knew as kid was _happy_?"

Because he tried. He tried _so hard. _But he wasn't Dick, or M'gann, or Katar. He couldn't replace the family they never had here, even when they became _his _family.

"So why bring it up? I thought there was no chance of ever getting back." He's not bitter, though in his frustration he probably sound that way. "We didn't have the tech to travel dimensions. Even Lord Batman's portals only accessed similar dimensions- oh, right, you guys probably didn't notice me checking his stuff out while you were finishing up with your counterparts. Whoops." He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. Chagrin is better than guilt or sorrow. His attempt to divert the mood isn't working as well as it usually does, though. The others are still troubled. "So, er. Now you know." He finishes weakly. He doesn't have anything else to say, and they're not asking. Not yet.

Luckily, Artemis is there to take the pressure off of him. "That's where I come in, I guess." She stands to address the table, but hesitates.

"It's not an accident that I'm here." She finally starts. "I mean, I didn't know Wally – my Wally – was here, but I didn't jump here accidentally like he did. I came he specifically to protect the Flash – Wally West."

"Er, Babe, I'm touched that you would care that much about me – even an alternate version of me – but I _can_ take care of myself." It hurt, a little, that she didn't seem to have faith in him, despite all they had been through together. It rubbed a little too close to _too young, too loud, too slow. _

"I know, love. We all know you can." And he didn't realize how much he needed to hear that until she said it. "But this isn't your run-of-the-mill villain we're talking bout. This is bigger than that. Something's out there targeting _you _specifically. Something's trying to eliminate Wally West from the Multiverse."


	6. Explanation

Ch 6: Explanation

**AN: **I hope y'all like this. I thought you deserved more than just exposition, but the trade off for that was fewer reactions and emotions. They'll come eventually, though. I promise.

XxXxX

"We first noticed it about 8 months after you… were gone." They had rehearsed how to explain the threat, but they had never counted on their Wally being out there somewhere. It added another dimension to this drama. She needed to stay detached. Objective.

_Stick to the facts, Crock._

"After the North Pole, Luthor claimed responsibility for stopping the meltdown." A screech echoes across the room, and everyone turns to see the table in front of Superman buckling beneath his clenched fists.

"Sorry." He says, and folds his hands into his lap instead.

"Trust me. We all felt the same way.

_"Arsenal! Stand. Down." Nightwing tries to placate the archer._

_"No! How can you say that? After all he's done? Using _your best friend," _he turns to her, "_your lover, _this way? Don't you hate him?"_

_They share a glance. "We do."_

"He's a slimy bastard in pretty much every universe, isn't he? Although he's a bit of an under-achiever here. I mean, President? Our Luthor used the publicity to become Secretary of the United Nations. You can imagine how well that went over."

_"Secretary of the UN Lex Luthor today announced an inquiry into the Justice League's operations. Should the League be found to be involved in any illicit activities – a likely scenario in the humble opinion of good ol' G. Gordon Godfrey– and the UN will take action against the so-called heroes. I, can only say, Bravo Secretary Luthor. It's past time someone initiated a thorough investigation of the Just-Us League."_

_"Amid allegations of kidnapping, unlawful martial action and the deployment of child soldiers, UN Secretary Luthor is encouraging members states of the United Nations to withhold jurisdiction from the Justice League. Some brave nations, like Biyalia, are taking this advice to heart and have declared that any intervention by a Justice League member within their borders will be seen as an act of aggression against their country. Other nations are stubbornly refusing to see the light. Vlatava's Queen Perdita even has the gall to _defend_ the League!" _

_"Secretary Luthor continues his valiant crusade against the League. New evidence suggests that at least one minor – a child! – has died 'in the line of duty' for the Justice League. Old Godfrey's been saying it for months, folks. This is a man worth supporting! We need to be grateful that Secretary Luthor has the willpower to stand against the corruption in our 'heroes' ranks. While the League futilely tries to counter a slew of allegations, Secretary Luthor has sought goodness, Literally. Recent talk of an intergalactic alliance to avoid another 'Reach' situation is reinforced as today Secretary Luthor will meet with one 'Granny Goodness' to discuss terms…"_

"Things just kept going from bad to worse. Heck, we were lucky when Luthor – when the Light – finally brought Apokolips in. We're so much better at smashing than negotiating."

_It could have been so much worse._

_Superboy had been tracking Intergang and its Apokoliptian tech for years. He was the one who realized that they were preparing for something. He led an envoy to New Genesis and secured a motherbox and the promise of aid should Apokolips move against earth. _

_At the same time, M'gann and B'arrs' negotiations with Mars were shockingly successful. Their sister planet was grateful for the League's part in stopping the Reach's inevitable conquest of their planet. They too, offered aid in the event of another terrestrial invasion._

_Cassie's success in 'Man's World' and L'gann and Kaldur's long list of heroics had softened the opinions of their own people, as well as the population at large. Themyscira and Atlantis were on the friendliest terms with the world at large as they had ever been, and were prepared to defend their planet, not just their homes._

_They had warning. They had allies. They had done this before. Their biggest boon, however, was in the nature of chaos._

_ The information Cheshire passed to Roy indicates that, for some unknown reason, Klarion had separated from the Light between the Reach's endgame and Darkseid's invasion. His role had been to stop New Genesis boom tubes and to conceal his own allies from the League's detection technologies. With his desertion, there was nothing to stop the League and their allies from taking the battle to them. For this Invasion they were not alone; they had the manpower to keep the Apokoliptians contained near the tube sites. _

_For a time._

_The armies kept coming, and they kept fighting, and Artemis watched her family grow weary. The Light aggravated what they could. Belle Reve and Arkham were broken open. UN armies attempted to interfere with League battle sites. Biyalia and Rhelasia had sudden nuclear crises. Earth's defenders couldn't keep it up, but they _could not lose_. _

_If this was going to end, they were going to have to strike back._

"The League made a final push back at the invaders, and a small group of us used that battle as a diversion to infiltrate Darkseid's fortress."

_Artemis takes point. She's their ranged fighter. She uses her arrows to blow obstacles before the team reaches them, to keep any enemies at a distance. They have to keep moving; she can't let them slow down and engage._

_Conner and Kaldur protect their flanks. They can take the hits their teammates can't. It's an implicit agreement between the two; they will protect their team at all costs._

_M'gann flies above, camouflaged. She is their eyes, their early warning system. Like Artemis, she does what she can to keep the soldiers and missiles that seek their end at bay._

_Nightwing's in the center, the most protected position. He's guiding them with an upgraded version of his old wrist computer. He is the one that can take down the central control system, the one that can stop the tide of Apokoliptian soldiers upon their home._

_They move fluidly; they've been doing this for years. _

_(A trained eye, however would note a slight stiltedness to their interactions, how they brace, as if for the actions of a sixth person…)_

_It takes all of their skill, their teamwork, but their luck holds. They make it to Darkseid's throne room; his control station._

_Darkseid himself had gone to battle – Superman and Captain Marvel should be able to keep him busy – but several of his Furies remained to coordinate their armies' attacks._

_Superboy and Kaldur launch themselves at the fearsome women. M'gann stays camouflaged and out of the way. She uses her telekinesis to stop deadly projectiles sent at her teammates, and sends out what psychic signals she dares to trip up Darkseid's gladiators._

_Nightwing makes it to the control station, barely, and Artemis covers him. His hands are full, his attention occupied; his life is completely in her hands now._

_She shoots down the guards that come for them, pushing her flexibility to its limits as she ducks and twirls, making herself the target and not Dick. All the while, she does what she can to help her teammates by firing smoke bombs and flash bangs into their fray. Eventually, she runs out of arrows, and drops her bow to pull out her sword. She throws herself into a fight with anyone that comes near her._

_Nightwing's close. She can make it. They can do this._

_Then the Apokoliptians release their cyber-hounds, and the battle turns against them. The other three are forced to retreat to her position, and they do their best to form a defensive perimeter as Dick works._

_It's painful, and bloody, but he needs time, they can't fail…._

_Suddenly, triumph flickers across the mind link. He's done it. He can blow the boom tube control system. Most of the Apokoliptian army will be trapped in the pocket dimensions between the ends of the boom tubes, and the League will be able to overwhelm Darkseid's remaining forces. They can save the world; Nightwing just has to trigger it._

_They're simultaneous emotions, the joy and the sorrow. Because there is no chance for them. They will not be able to retreat from this position; they will not be able to leave the blast range._

_There is no hesitation in their minds. In this decision, they are one._

_Nightwing presses the button._

"We took out his control center, crippling the Apokoliptian army, but got caught in the backlash. Instead of killing us, the explosion seems to have amplified the collapsing boom tubes. We were all thrown into different dimensions."

_The first thing she feels when she returns to consciousness is surprise. She shouldn't be alive._

_After she gets over that shock, she's just annoyed._

_Wherever she is, it's closer to League décor than Apokoliptian, so why the hell is she chained up? She's not sure if she has more questions or less when Superman and Batman come in to interrogate her._

_They're furious, and want to know how the villain Tigress made it into the Watchtower, when by all accounts she's still in Blackgate Penitentiary._

_Eventually (read: after several hours with J'onn and with Diana's lasso) they straighten things out. She is allowed to roam the public areas of the watchtower freely, as long as she stays out of trouble. She does not take advantage of this._

_She spends the two weeks it takes to get her home watching the newsreels of this Wally's recent assassination and crying by his memorial._

_Wally was shaking Superman's hand, being welcomed as the newest member of the League, when he was shot, just once, in the heart. _

_Tigress had pulled the trigger._

"Dr. Fate realized what had happened, and he, Zatanna, Dr. Palmer and Bart were able to reverse-engineer some new trans-dimensional portals with some New Genesis tech. By the time they had finally tracked us all down and brought us all back, though, a pattern was emerging."

_"Wally had just died in the dimension you were in too?"_

_"No one talked about him in mine, but he was definitely killed recently."_

_"He hadn't even become Kid Flash yet! He was just visiting his Aunt Iris and someone blew up the news studio!"_

_"He had a family, and kids. His little twins were devastated…"_

"We ended up exploring dozens of universes, trying to figure out what was happening. There was no order to it. It didn't matter if he had powers, what he did with them, or how old he was. Things just started happening. Someone would go crazy and kill you. An old, forgotten evil would suddenly re-appear. Villains' plans suddenly revolved around taking you out first – even those with other vendettas like Luthor and Bane. So many had lost their Wally West… it couldn't be a coincidence, despite the differences. We devised a plan."

_"This can not be allowed to continue."_

_"Kaldur, none of us want more Wally's to die, but is it really our responsibility? With everything that has to be rebuilt? What are you even suggesting? That we should just throw each member of the Team into a different universe and hope for the best?"_

_"It is our responsibility, Conner! Look at these patterns. Whatever it was clearly originated in our universe! Whether it caused or was caused by his death, we owe it to him – to them – to stop it."_

_"Nightwing. Calm yourself. Although he is correct. This… anomaly needs to be stopped. Also… this is not a Team mission. Red Robin has proven he is ready to lead. The Team does not need us any longer. If you are willing, we will take this mission ourselves. Artemis?"_

_"The five of us will split up. We've been tracking the anomaly, and it seems like it can only jump into 'similar' universes. We've pinpointed the five most likely dimensions for it to have gone to. We each infiltrate one. We protect that world's Wally West. If the Anomaly shows up, we call each other to that universe, and take it down."_

_"And if we're wrong, if we miss it?"_

_"We shouldn't be, M'gann."_

_"But if we are?"_

_"Then we deal with our failure, and we follow it."_

"The Anomaly is very good at attacking you indirectly – we still have know idea who or what it is – but it does leave traces. Moreover, it has to move relatively slowly, and in stages of similar dimensions. That's probably why it took so long to get here. Whatever divergence separated our universe from yours must have happened long ago for things to be so different here than they are back home."

She has to stop there for a moment. The next part is… complicated.

"We've done this a lot. We've developed a system. That's why I went to Batman. It's easier for me that way, to stay away from the League. Not having to interact with another Wally is just a bonus."

"Ouch Babe. I'm hurt."

She snaps at him,_"_You of all people know how hard it is to watch your loved one die, again and again."

"I'm sorry." His eyes soften, despite her tone, but he can't hold in his curiosity. He whispers, "How many?"

She doesn't want to talk about this. She was doing so well with sticking to the script. Her vision is blurring – is she crying? – and she can feel herself shaking. She can picture every one of her failures clearly in her mind.

_Bright green eyes, dulling._

_Hair that shouldn't be _blood_ red._

_Legs that should be able to run away._

_He's been beatenshotbeheadedstabbedblownupstrangledstarveddr ownedcrushed_killed.

_He's dead. Again._

_Because she failed. Again. _

_(Because she will never be able to save him)._

"Sixteen."

Suddenly he's there and she can feel his embrace – he's alive, he's _here _– and everything's going to be okay again, eventually.

_She won't fail this time._

She doesn't want to continue. She just wants to go home and hold Wally and never leave his sight again. But they need to know what she's done here. She needs to push through this and continue.

"Eventually, I ended up here, and I got in contact with your Batman."

_Batarangs fly, and Artemis is forced to dodge again. She always hates this part. Moving to a new dimension, convincing a new Batman, pretending it didn't hurt to watch another Wally die… _

"Our own Batman and another one of my colleagues came with me to explain things."

_The fight is over quickly, as it should be. Batman is no match for himself_ and_ two others. Now is the actual hard part. They've learned that Batman is the only one who will ever take the threat of the Anomaly seriously. Even so, he's a bat, and it's hard to convince him to trust them. _

_She's glad their Batman donates a few hours of his time to help them in Universes like this, where that don't have trans-dimensional technology and other-Batman is less inclined to believe the heroes' story. Still, they always let Nightwing do the talking. It seems Batmen are naturally inclined to trust the joyful bird._

_So Nightwing talks and Artemis lets Batman run his tests and all to soon she's saying goodbye to _her _Batman and Nightwing and helping _this _Batman set up her history here. _

"We convinced him that we were telling the truth. Batman gave me information on the Legion, and I thought I could do the most good there. Once we decided on that plan, he promised me not to tell you guys. Not for his own sake, but for mine. We've had problems with moles in the League before. We decided not to risk it."

_It is easy, to fall into sync with another Batman. They set up passcodes and contact frequencies. They share intel and draw comparisons between dimensions. She tells him about their Wally, when he asks._

_She doesn't ask about this Wally._

_It only takes a few hours – she's done this before, she knows exactly what she needs – and they have their plan._

_Artemis is gone from the cave before sunrise._

_Tigress has some hunting to do._

XxXxX

AN: … So, I have bad news. This is the last chapter I had mostly written in sequence (the rest we'll get to eventually). Everything from here out will have to be written on a week-by-week basis. To avoid a drop in quality, I'm giving you fair warning that the length of chapters may drop, or that I may not be able to update every week, at least until this summer.

Also, I'd still really appreciate it if someone wanted to be my beta.

Right now my process is like this: write a chapter. Look at the chapter, decide it's horrible, and re-write it. Edit the chapter. Walk away for a few days. Look at the chapter again, edit some more. Decide I will never be happy with it and post it anyways. Receive kind reviews, feel better about myself, and write another chapter. Repeat. I think having someone else to bounce ideas off/help me edit would be, well, helpful.

To: ImmaWorking.

Fear not. I am but a mere fan fiction writer. What right have I to interfere with the greatest bromance in the history of comics?


	7. Interlude: Kaldur'ahm

Interlude: Kaldur'ahm

**AN: **

Sorry this is short, but Kal wouldn't leave me alone. At least this gives me more time to get a regular-length chapter ready for next week.

XxXxX

He is worried.

He shouldn't be. Artemis is more than capable of taking care of herself. He knows this, perhaps better than anyone else on the team. Even so…

Fourteen days.

They've been out of contact for longer, but never without prior notice. That's how he knows she isn't just on some extended op; she would have warned them. He can think of little else good that would keep her silent for two weeks. The others are worried, in an abstract sense, but only he feels like _something _has to have happened.

He likes to think he has a better connection to her that the others. That they fell into sync in those months under the sea when their fates were twined so closely together, when their lives depended on each other and a lie. He even understands, vaguely, that this is at least half-true.

He has always worried for the other 'sidekicks.' Before Roy came along, he was the oldest of the three (and even after Speedy débuted, he was still the most mature), and felt it his duty to care for the younger heroes. When the Team formed, he became their leader, and their well being rested directly in his hands. Even after they enacted The Plan and he – for all intents and purposes – stood against them, he did only what he had to for their sakes.

Things seemed to change, when he killed Artemis. They felt closer to him than the fate of the world. More personal. Her life was again directly in his hands. He had failed those he cared about most once already (Oh Garth, oh _Tula, _forgive him). He would not do the same to Wally and Artemis.

Except that he did.

He and Artemis completed their mission. They got the intel, and they got out alive. It broke his heart, and his Father's, but his Team was safe. But because he failed at the summit, their enemies escaped. Wally paid the price.

He couldn't save Wally and Artemis after all. (And it was Garth and Tula all over again.)

He watched Artemis fall apart.

Dick was the one who shared in her grief, in her loss of the person she was closest to. Conner was the one who acted as her rock, her emotional support. M'gann was the one who cheered her up, who understood girls and love and loss.

But he himself was her comfort.

He knew what it was like to lose the person you loved. It felt natural for her to come to him. For them to continue the façade they had maintained for his Fa- for Black Manta's sake. He stopped locking his door, so on any given night she could crawl into his bed, and he would hold her while she cried. Often, they would fall asleep in each other's arms, reminding each other that they weren't alone.

It never went further than that, and everyone believed them when they said so. Neither of them felt that sort of attraction to each other, and even if they did, their emotions were too raw to tarnish their lovers' memories like that. They were simply two people who could help hold the others' pieces together, though that is a strong connection in its own right.

So he could admit to himself that they were connected, more than any of the others. Life and Death. Love and Loss. They were the ones who had dealt most closely with these things. Together.

_Symbiosi._

Out of the whole team, he worried about her the most, but he also believed in her the most. He would give her the benefit of the doubt and wait through the weekend for her to make contact.

If a small piece of himself whispered, _you can't abandon Wally, you owe it to him, _well. A larger piece of him whispered, _Artemis is what he would care about more. _Besides, he was tired of watching the people he loved die.

So.

Two days.

Then he would go after her.


	8. Interlude: Roy and Jade

Interlude: Roy and Jade

**AN: **I don't even… the next chapter is sticky, and I'm not putting it out until it's a lot better than it is right now. Somewhere around Monday night, though, these guys started bothering me for some scene time. Sorry about this. It was supposed to be a real chapter. This pretty much has no bearing on the plot, as I didn't expect these guys to show up until, like, the epilogue, or close to it. Hope you enjoy it, though. It's barely edited, and not great, because Jade's hard to write, and I have no idea what Lian is supposed to be like, but…

XxXxX

"Daddy! You're Home!" It's the highlight of Roy's day when his baby girl comes running up to him like that.

"I am, Princess. How was your day today?" He drops his things, scoops her up, and continues in to the living room. Jade must be around here somewhere; she wouldn't have picked Lian up only to leave her at home alone.

"It was great! I got to go to the Allen's, an' Ms. Iris made cookies, an' me an' Dawn tricked Don to play ninjas and princesses with us and then we rescued him from the dragon, but he turned out to be an evil ninja, so Dawn had to rescue him with the power of her love, 'cause a good princess can't have an evil ninja for a brother…"

Lian continues to prattle on and he makes suitably impressed noises as he continues to search for his wife. She's not in the living room, the kitchen, Lian's bedroom or their bedroom. That doesn't really leave any other options in the apartment proper. She must be in the 'cape bunker,' as she so sarcastically likes to call it, then.

That's… not a good sign.

He hesitates to put Lian down. This probably isn't something she should be involved in, but if Jade is getting sucked back into another mission, back to that life, then Lian may be the only thing he has to convince her to stay.

He's hold Lian tighter as he steps into the hall closet, and slides open the hidden panel that leads to the other half of his and Jade's life.

"So then Don tried to cheat with his super speed, so I threw my apple at him. It smacked right on his forehead! Then he kinda fell a little and stepped on his toy truck and then that made him fall all the way! Dawn stopped to laugh, but I ran over an' pinned him before he could get up, just like you taught me!"

"That's my girl."

He had thought the room was empty for a moment, until Jade's voice sounded from the corner. He slips on the full set of lights, and see his wife sitting on one of the workbenches, arms crossed, waiting for him. Her Cheshire gear is laid out behind her.

"Lian, sweetheart? Mommy and Daddy need to talk about something. Could you go upstairs and pick out the book you want Daddy to read to you tonight?"

"Is it… cape stuff?" His smart, precious little girl.

"Yeah, baby. It is."

"Okay, Mommy." She squirms until Roy sets her down. She scampers back up the stairs immediately. Jade glares at him and doesn't say another word until they hear the panel in the closet open and close again. Tightly.

Jade slides off the table and turns her back to him. She inspects her sai as she says; "Iris said the most interesting thing today when I was picking Lian up."

"Oh?" And his instincts scream trap, but he's never been able to spar with her verbally. Maybe if they moved this to the mats…

"According to the Flash, Artemis hasn't checked in for a while. I guess her teammates are getting nervous." Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

"Chesh, listen-" And the sai flies past his head, burying itself in the wall. She's facing him now, livid. Now he's really worried. Jade _never _loses it.

"No. You listen. You are going to tell me what you know about my sister. You are then going to explain why you didn't tell me. It had better be a _very _good reason."

He swallows. "Chesh- Jade. I don't… I don't know that much. Ollie's been twitchy all week. Artemis hasn't contacted him in over a month. So we checked with the Team… she hasn't made contact with _anyone_, hasn't even submitted a status report, in over two weeks."

Her shoulders are shaking and _this _is why he didn't say anything to her. He remembers the last time Artemis 'died.' How it tore her up inside and out. How she was angry enough to team up with _Sportsmaster. _ How she wouldn't stop, not even for him, not even for Lian. How he and Lian almost lost her, permanently.

He's glad that she and Artemis got close again after the Invasion. He really is. It made it less awkward when they all had to show up to Dinah's mandatory Arrow Family Dinners, and gave Lian a chance to grow close to her Aunt Arty. But now it might tear Jade away from him and Lian. Because she dropped them to avenge her sister before; why wouldn't she do the same again?

"Jade." He's speaking softly, but he knows her attention is fully on him. "You can't… If something happened to Artemis, you can't leave us like you did to go after Aqualad."

"How dare you-" He closes the distance between them and grabs her wrists. She could take him down easily, if she tried, but right now he thinks she's going to let him finish.

"You once told me that Lian needs her father. That I had to be completely there for her. The same goes for you. Lian needs her mother. I know you love Artemis; she's you're little sister. Well, she's my little sister too. But Artemis is grown up now. You can't make up for how your childhoods were by going after anyone that hurts her now. She doesn't need you to! But Lian does need you. Right now."

Jade's shutting down, the real Cheshire mask sliding onto her face even as smiling red and white is still sitting on the bench behind her. He tries a different tactic.

"Kaldur hasn't even gone after her yet. He would have, if she was in that much trouble. Give her some more time. Either she's already dead-" Jade tenses, but he keeps going. "and there's nothing you can do for her, or she's on some covert op and you'll only make things worse for her. You need to be here for Lian. Let Kaldur handle this."

He can practically see the fight that's taking place in her mind. Finally she _twists_ and he loses her grip on her.

"You will keep me posted on Kaldur'ahm's progress. And you will speak to Dinah. If something has happened to Artemis, she and Ollie can look after Lian while we go after the perpetrators."

It's not ideal, but he'll take it. "Yes ma'am."

XxXxX

Again, I'm really sorry. Especially because this will probably be the last chapter for a couple weeks. I'll be getting ready for exams next Friday, and I'll be in Japan the Friday after that. I'll try to get _something _up as an apology, be it one of my old drabbles, or some of the started plunnies I have to work on after Fixations is over, but this story's not going to be updated. Sorry. At least after that, it's summer, so I should really be able to work on this a lot more.


	9. Consternation

Ch 7: Consternation

**AN:**

I'm back, baby! Thanks to everyone that wished me well on exams and in Japan. Both were great! I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that I had extra time to work on this chapter. I struggled with it for weeks, then finally got inspiration just this morning, so yay deadlines. I hope y'all like this. At least it's the last of the 'explanation/immediate reaction' chapters. Then stuff gets to happen again! Yay! I have a good chunk of story planned out/half written for the next set of events, too. So, without further ado, Chapter 7 everybody!

XxXxX

They are silent for a long time when Artemis finishes. Her face is buried in Wally's chest; he's rubbing circles on her back. J'onn finally speaks.

"As trying as this night – and the ones before it – have been, may I suggest you break from our discussion for now?"

"Please. I- I think we're going to go back to my room. If you guys don't mind." Artemis shifts out of his embrace, sliding to his side and putting her arm around his waist. He slings his arm over Artemis's shoulders, and pulls her around to leave. Batman's voice stops them at the door.

"We'll need to tell the rest of the League something. They've been asking questions."

He looks back at them over his shoulder. "I don't care what you tell them, Bats… No. Tell them everything. They deserve to know, and it doesn't matter." He glances down at Artemis. "Not anymore." He tries to leave again.

"Hot Shot!" John calls out to him. He looks back towards the table and John hesitantly comes over to him. He's looking at the floor as he murmurs, "We- I need to talk to you about this. Eventually."

"Yeah."

"I… You… I'll see you in the morning." Wally doesn't know what he was going to say, but he can guess. He won't leave GL so anxious.

"John. You're still one of my best friends."

"You too, Hot Shot." He claps his hand on Wally's shoulder. They smile weakly at each other. "You too."

Artemis leans into his side, and he can't wait anymore. He scoops her up, nods to his friends, and _runs._ In moments, they're in his room on the Watchtower and finally alone.

"I'm sorry, I've missed you, I'm sorry." He's not sure which one of them is saying it, but they both mean it. Because he's watched her die three times. Because she's watched him die sixteen. Because they've lost so much that they didn't have to.

Artemis pulls him down to her level and just touches her forehead to his. He looks into her eyes. He's missed her eyes; grey shouldn't be that deep and expressive. It definitely shouldn't be that pained.

"I love you," he breathes and closes the distance between their lips. He pulls her down onto his bed, because standing is taking effort away from getting close to her. They're alive, together, and alone and that all that matter to right now.

He doesn't know how much later it is when they speak again. It doesn't matter, not when he has her in his arms.

"Do you want to talk about it? About… everything?"

"Do you?" She shoots right back.

"You know I don't. Canary would be so disappointed."

He chuckles. "She would, wouldn't she? Though she probably wouldn't be surprised. We were never good at the whole 'sharing our feelings' thing."

They're silent again, until she says, "We should go to Paris."

"Mm?" She rolls to lean over him at his confused sound.

"Paris." She kisses the base of his ear. "You're on leave from the League," She adds a kiss to his jaw. "Your job, if you still have one, won't care that you're gone a couple extra days at this point," Her lips brush his cheek. "And most importantly, the world's not ending." She kisses his nose, and stares down into his eyes. "You owe me a trip to Paris."

"I do, don't I? You are far too persuasive for your own good, 'Missy." He leans up to catch her mouth with his.

When they break apart, she hesitates for a moment. "Just remember this in the morning."

"Why?"

She worries her lip, but decides to play it straight. They've had enough secrets and lies for one lifetime. "Because I'd bet money they have – or will – make plans with the data I acquired, and they'll probably exclude you. I've gotten very used to working with Batmen. They don't mess around with these kinds of things."

"What! They can't! Not without me! I'm a founding member of the League!" He starts to get up, but she pushes him back down.

"Wally! Listen to me." And he knows better than to argue with that tone. "I'm here because the Anomaly is close. Given everything that's happened lately, it might already be here. Batman will have figured this out already, and the rest of the League will agree with him. There's no need for you to take unnecessary risks. With the intel I've given to Batman, it won't be difficult for the League to take the Legion down. Please don't risk yourself. Not now. You're not... you're not _needed _for this."

He watches her die behind his eyelids, and realizes he has to get used to considering his loved ones again when he makes these decisions.

"I'm sorry, Beautiful. I won't fight them on this. But… I can't sit on the sidelines forever."

"I know. I'm not asking you to. I won't ask you to. It's too late to leave the life completely. I mean… Don't think I'm not trying to figure out how to get my hands on a new costume…"

"We'll figure something out. The Flash needs his partner back, yeah? But… In the morning. It's late."

He reaches over her to flip the light off and she leans back into his arms. Again, they're silent. He plays with her hair, hoping she will sleep peacefully after everything she's endured.

"What are you thinking about?" She murmurs after a while.

"I'm wondering what your new costume will look like. I hope it's like your old one. I liked the bare midriff." He pokes her belly and she snorts, slapping his hand away.

"You never change. Go to sleep, you silly dork."

"As you wish."

XxXxX

No one moves to continue their discussion after Wally and Artemis's exit. He finds that... unfortunate. He finds he's doing slightly better without the young couple's _painsadnessguiltrelief, _but his fellow founder's emotional backlash still has him reeling. He'd prefer to finish this discussion and retreat for some meditation time. He never wanted to handle this kind of grief again. He definitely didn't want to handle it coming from Wally. (Because _Wally _should _never _have those feelings.)

He tries to center himself on one of the other Founders rather than his own thoughts.

Batman's – Bruce's feelings are carefully blank. He would use that as his anchor, if it weren't for the sudden jolts of emotion that break through the Bat's walls every few minutes. They're quickly and efficiently tamped down, but even so, they're a shock to his mindscape, much like a bucket of ice water to a human, and unpredictable enough that he can't shield himself from them. He turns his focus to his other teammates.

Clark and Diana are all compassion, so he is not surprised that their emotions churn with hurt and sorrow. He understands these. Wally trusts them with everything… except that he apparently doesn't. Even with Wally's explanation, it hurts that he couldn't share this with them. As for the sorrow… well. Wally's their light. He's not supposed to know sadness like that. It was an unspoken rule that he and the other Leaguers would protect him from that, so that he _wouldn't. _Ever. Then to hear his lover's tale. Well. J'onn knows that Clark fears failing his loved ones. Of course he would feel for the woman who had done just that, over and over again. Diana is compassionate towards all creatures. This had to hurt her, to see a sister, a fellow warrior, in such pain.

The emotions of his last to companions are more mystifying. Shayera and John are _angry. _It's hard to pinpoint what they're angry at. The world, for its cruelty? Wally, for lying to them? Artemis, for shattering the happy illusion they had of the Scarlet Speedster? No. If he knows them, (and his mind whispers that he does) then they're angry with themselves. While all seven of them are close, John and Shayera are the closest to Wally. John's his best friend. Shayera's his sister. How could they not _know? _More than that though, this isn't something they can just fix. Yelling, smashing, those things will do no good here. He imagines that is the most frustrating thing of all for them.

It is frustrating for him as well. With no one calm (and no Wally here and happy) J'onn is actually going to have to face his own emotions. He does not like this. While the others are hurt or angry over Wally's revelations and Artemis's warnings, he finds himself preoccupied with another piece of information.

He has a niece.

No. He would have had a niece.

A beautiful, kind, _heroic_ niece. A girl he would have mentored. Who would have anchored him to both his old and new homes. Who would have loved him.

He feels for all that Wally went through; the kind, generous, _joyful _speedster should never have had to do that. He feels, too, for Artemis's troubles. But.

He would have had a niece.

And that's what it just keeps coming back to, isn't it? He had long since stopped picturing what his family would have been like. If his wife, his daughter, his brothers and sisters had survived. But now he knows, at least partially, what he could have had, and that one fact had irreparably burst through the walls of _don't lose yourself to what-if's_.

Because he would have had a niece.

She would have been wonderful enough that Wallythought she was worthy of courting, that Artemis would call her earth-sister. She would have embraced earth culture (and he is glad for that. This is a lonely world when you don't feel you belong) and made a life they would both be proud of.

He can picture he passion, her curiosity, her love. He can picture the most important thing about her: she would have been _alive_.

She would have been_ his_ niece.

He needs to stop this, like he needed to get away from Wally's pain. He speaks up, before he can lose this moment of clarity to more rumination. "I was not simply trying to get rid of Flash and Artemis when I suggested rest. We are all tired. Is there more we need to discuss?"

"We need to go over the plans to take on the Legion of Doom," Batman growls out immediately. J'onn notices that 'talking shop,' as Wally sometimes puts it, is smoothing Bruce's emotions, losing them to the Bat's clinical views.

"What we _need _is to talk about Wally."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with John." Shayera cuts in before Batman can respond.

The Dark Knight simply stares and laces his fingers together in front of his chin. "Deal with your emotional responses on your own time. We have a closing window of opportunity to act on Tigress' data and take down dozens of villains simultaneously."

"Now listen here you emotionally constipated cave dweller-" J'onn leans back at the anger behind the outburst, even as John moves half out of his seat, half-lunging across the table towards Batman.

"Do you really want to start this fight, Lantern?"

"Bruce! John!" Diana slaps her palm on the table; the two heroes dare not ignore her. "We are all tired. We are all distressed by what we have learned today. We have all been frantic for the past few weeks. Taking our frustration out on each other will not help us. John, I know you're hurting. We all are. But discussing Wally's revelations in his absence will not bring us to a meaningful resolution. Bruce, antagonizing us is counter-productive. Shayera, Bruce is also right. We need to take advantage of Artemis's sacrifices and use this data for a counter strike.

Shayera frowns and crosses her arms, but doesn't protest. John merely grumbles, "Fine, what's the plan?"

Bruce explains quickly and efficiently, as always. They all trust his tactical abilities, despite his recently revealed deceptions, so there is little discussion, just the fine-tuning of the minute details.

"Flash isn't on any of these teams." Clark points out as they're finishing up.

"Does anyone have a problem with that?" Batman practically growls at them.

"Wally will." Shayera says quietly. She's twiddling her thumbs together in a very… human gesture.

"Undoubtedly. I meant anyone else?" J'onn can feel that they're shocked – almost affronted – at Bruce's disregard for their teammate's opinion. Even so, nobody speaks up.

XxXxX

Diana gazes down at the crowd assembled in the main bay of the Watch Tower. When she asked for everyone onboard the satellite to assemble for some announcements, she expected only the few "night" watchmen and regular inhabitants to appear. Apparently, she underestimated the power of a rumor. Data logs showed that nearly every member of the Justice League was here. There hadn't been this many people on board since the initiation of new members during the expansion of the League. She supposed this meant she would only have to do this once then.

"Thank you all for being here. I know it's the middle of the night for most of us, so I appreciate your promptness and attention. I'll be brief, so we can all get some sleep. Many of you probably have questions about the recent events surround Flash."

There's a murmur of agreement, acknowledging that this is something of an understatement; everyone's dying to know what's going on.

"I want to start off by assuring you that Flash is going to make a full recovery, he's already cracking jokes and asking to be returned to duty."

"Not to mention shacking up with villains."

"Oliver!" There's a slapping sound; Black Canary smacked the back of Green Arrow's head.

"If you cannot keep your thoughts to yourself, Arrow, you can leave." Diana is stern. She knows what they're all thinking right now. That's part of the reason they decided to go ahead and do this. "But thank you for leading me into my next point. Tigress – now Artemis – is allowed to roam here freely. Anyone who accosts her will face disciplinary action appropriate for harassing another League member."

There's another murmur of disapproval. Diana notices Hawk trying to make a scene form the back, but Dove is quietly stopping his attempts to call out. Thank Hera for people like him and Dinah; she refuses to lose control of this situation because of a couple hotheads inciting a mob's frustration. Diana's spent years dealing with John, Kal, Shayera _and _Bruce. She can handle the rest of the League. She ignores the fact that she usually has Wally to help her diffuse the situation, and continues.

"Artemis is not our enemy. She has been acting as an undercover agent, passing information on the Legion to Batman. She's on our side and we should all be grateful she is. It was she that organized Flash's rescue, after all."

She pauses before continuing. She wants to savor this brief moment while everyone is pacified, willing to accept what she's telling them – that's going to change after her next words. "There's more. I know it's going to be hard to believe, but I assure you, everything I'm about to tell you is the truth." There's an undercurrent of amusement in the crowd; no one in the League has ever doubted her words. She's the Spirit of Truth, after all. Even so, she knows what she's about to say is unbelievable. Diana herself doubted it at first, didn't she? "The Flash – and Artemis – are from another dimension."

That's when she loses control of the situation.

XxXxX

"Mari!" John has finally found Vixen amongst the angry, confused Leaguers assembled in the main bay. Diana's trying to explain the things Wally and Artemis told them, so the outbursts are beginning to settle down, but it's still hectic. John identifies a few leading troublemakers amongst the skeptics, including Green Arrow and Hawk, and hopes they won't be causing any problems in the near future. They have enough things to deal with as it is.

"John!" She sees him, and follows him to the back of the crowd, where they can actually talk and not just fight to hear each other. "Are you okay?" She asks as soon as she reaches him. Wally's his best friend other than Rex, and he's been stressed out these past few weeks over everything that's been happening.

"I don't know." He really doesn't. He doesn't know if he can be okay until he and Wally can work this out. Because Wally was is one of his closest friends, and he had _no idea_.

"So all this is true then? Wally's from another dimension? He was a part of another League?"

"Their covert ops group, can you believe it?"

"Yeah, that was more the sticking point for me than the 'alternate universe' thing."

John can't help how his lips twitch up into a half-smile. "I know. It's pretty amazing. I never would have guessed the Hot Shot could be quiet, much less stealthy."

She gives him an odd look, before hesitantly saying, "It seems like, from what Wonder Woman is saying, he had good reasons to keep quiet. It's not personal John. I know he considers you a good friend."

She knows him so well. "I know. I don't blame him for it. Really. It's just… how did I not notice that? How can he really consider me a friend when I don't know him? How many times have we ignored his suggestions, derided his intelligence? He's a genius, Vix, and we never took him seriously. That had to hurt. How does that not bother him? How can he not hold that against us?" John realizes the problem as he says it. That's really what the biggest issue is here, isn't it?

They're superheroes. They keep secrets from each other. Hell, they didn't even know each other's real names for the first two years they knew each other! Wally keeping his past a secret is hardly a cardinal sin. No. It's how they've always treated Flash that has this knot of guilt twisting up into a ball of fear and anger in John's gut. John has struggled against prejudice his whole life. He's been judged for his skin color, for being from a bad neighborhood, for being human, and even for being a superhero. Wally, at least, was playing the idiot to protect them, and they mocked him for it. How can Wally _not _resent that?

"John." He was so lost in his own thoughts that he flinches in surprise when his lover reaches out to cup his face. "So what if Wally is smarter or more serious that we thought? You can't fake the extent of his forgiveness, his kindness. I'm sure Wally doesn't hold anything against you."

"He... he did said I was still one of his best friends."

"There you go. Wally wouldn't lie to you. Well, not about that."

"Yeah." She's right. Wally's still _Wally. _His Hot Shot, even if they have to remove the word 'idiot' before they call him a goofball. That knot of _guiltsadnessanger _is still there, but it's less pressing than it was a few minutes ago. "You know, it's completely unfair that Wally gets to spend the night with his girl, and here we are just standing here talking…"

"You're reading my mind, Handsome." She pulls him down for a kiss. He slings his arm around her waist and pulls her close as they head towards her quarters.

"Let me tell you about the big mission we're gonna have while we head back to your room, mm? You're gonna kick so much villain ass."

XxXxX

**AN 2:**

Okay, so you all know the 'cover art' for this was provided by the amazing IronicVeghead over on Deviant art (Seriously, go check out her stuff. It's awesome! It gives me the feels!).

Anyways, I stumbled across this: art/Spitfire-AU-361954455, way after I had already written ruminations. It's another JLU-style spitfire. That's basically exactly what I'm picturing. I think he might be psychic, too, because some of the other pictures have definitely already been pictured/planned so… mental images for everyone!


	10. Commiseration

Ch 8: Commiseration

It's late when Clark gets home, but he finds the porch light on and a key under his ma's favorite purple gnome for him, as always. A normal person would have no choice but to wake their parents in a creaky old house like this, but Clark has the advantages of experience and flight; he dodges every creaky step, and makes it to his old room silently. His Ma has his bed made up for him – again, as always – and he all but collapses into it.

In the morning, he's awoken in the morning by the smell of baking biscuits and the sound of sizzling bacon.

"How'd you know I was here?" He asks his ma when he sneaks into the kitchen and sees four place settings.

"Oh, a Mother's intuition." She accepts his kiss on the cheek and waves a wooden spoon to his old chair. "Sit down, Dear."

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't you listen to her mumbo-jumbo nonsense, Clark. Kara tipped us off that the League issued an all-clear. It wasn't a hard guess you might be coming after that." His pa folds up his newspaper as Clark sits down.

"Jonathan! Stop giving away my secrets!" Martha shakes her spoon at him. He reaches out, grabs her hand and kisses it.

"Sorry Darlin." Clark suddenly realizes how interesting his fingernails are. He's not embarrassed. He's not.

"Y'all are going to have to get a room. You're upsetting Kal."

"Kara!"

Said girl has finally gotten up and made it downstairs. She folds her arms and smirks at the Man of Steel. "Don't deny it, 'Cuz."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, Dear. We'll stop." His ma says, and his pa chuckles.

Kara slips behind him and throws her arms around his neck. "Soooo… what's up? I couldn't make it last night, so you owe me some answers!" She gives him a squeeze with just enough Kryptonian strength to show she's serious before sliding into her own chair.

"I really don't know if I should…"

His pa presses. "Oh, c'mon, Clark! We're all curious!"

"That Flash boy was always so nice. I do hope he's okay." And he can't say no to Ma's stern look of 'you better tell me right now if I need to make some get-well soup.'

"He's fine. He's just… Not who we thought he was."

"Oh?" Jonathon steeples his fingers to look at his son. Dishonesty is a serious issue, one that has plagued the League from day one, but he never would have expected it from the cheerful boy that ate every single bite Martha put on his plate (no mean feat, that).

"Not… Not in a bad way." He glances at Kara and sighs. Stargirl was at the meeting last night. "You're going to hear this as soon as Courtney wakes up and starts texting you anyways. Flash… isn't exactly from around here."

His parents listen attentively to his story, except when his mom has to pause to get the biscuits out of the oven. Kara is more opinionated, and he has to stop several times to assure her of the facts, but she seems satisfied with his explanations by the time she has to leave for school.

He's helping his ma wash the dishes after breakfast when he finally says, "Am I a bad person?"

"Oh sweetie! Of course you're not!" His ma immediately assures him.

His pa glances at him and asks, "What makes you say that, Son?"

"Just… a few things."

Martha puts down the dish she was drying and pulls her son to sit between herself and his pa. They wait for him to gather his thoughts and speak.

"IkindofagreewiththeLords." He says in a rush.

"Come again?" Pa asks.

"I… kind of… agree with the Justice Lords." He winces, and waits for his parents to speak.

"Oh, sweetheart!"

"Calm down Martha! Let the boy talk for a minute without your coddling. Say your piece, Clark, then we'll see if we need to talk you outta something."

This is why he had to come to his parents with this. The League would probably throw him out (or at the very least sic Question on him) for saying such things. Lois would hit him with whatever paper she was inevitably writing and saddle him with an outraged rant as soon as he got the words out. His parents, though, have always known when to listen and when to talk him around to a new way of thinking.

"It's just, the whole time Artemis was telling us about the Light, about Luthor, all I could think of was how much damage would have been prevented if we had stopped them in the first place. I mean, if we had _stopped them _stopped them." He runs his hand through his hair.

"I'm not talking about everybody. I know we shouldn't – we can't – go that far. I'm talking about the dangerous ones. The ones that keep doing bad things, over and over. Luthor became the head of the _United Nations. _He and his cronies got so many people killed… How easy would that have been to stop? One man's life for all of those innocents… Or what about the Joker? How many times has Batman put him away? He always gets back out. He always kills more people, tortures them… Artemis said, in her universe, he tortured Bruce's son to death! Why does someone like that deserve to live? To keep hurting others? It's not fair!" He slams his fist on the table, and it buckles. They're all forced to jump out of their seats to avoid the debris. "Daggummit! I'm sorry, Ma, Pa, I'll get you a new table. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry…"

He's almost whining, backtracking from his anger out of guilt. His Ma just pulls him down into a hug. "It's okay sweetheart. We know you didn't mean to. It's okay…" She murmurs in his ear. He gives her a squeeze and a kiss on the head, but she doesn't let go, so he's forced to raise his eyes to meet his pa's.

"Well, I'm just a simple farmer, not really experienced in making life or death decisions like you," His pa scratches his head. His voice is steady. It's a familiar, comforting balm to his emotional upheaval. "But it seems to me you're missing a few pieces that turn your logic right on it's head.

Clark pushes his mother away and shakes his head. "Who am I to be judge, jury and executioner, once I start where do I stop, every life is precious," He mimics. He's heard all of these arguments before. "I _know. _I really do. And I remind myself of them all the time. But then Luthor turns around and…."

"Stop, Son." His father holds up his hand. His voice is gentle, but Clark knows well enough to obey. "Those _are _good points, the ones we raised you on. But I was thinking of something else."

He steps forward, next to his wife, and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "People _change _Son. Sometimes unexpectedly. When you take that permanent solution, you take that chance away from them." He looks right into his son's eyes. "What I'm saying is, who are you to decide who's _never _going to change?"

"But they _never _do!"

"Never? You can't think of_ anyone_ that's stopped being a villain, or even a villain that's done some good in their life?"

Clark is suddenly reminded of an early part of Artemis' story.

_I never wanted them to know that I was from a family of villains. The Team –once I told them – never held that against me. They said it didn't matter. That _I _got to decide who I could be._

"Artemis… her mom quit being a villain. She was the one that got Artemis into the hero business. She's part of the reason Artemis' sister became a hero too. Quit the League of Shadows after _years_ of being an assassin to work covert ops for the Justice League instead…"

_This is awkward… um. Clark, Superboy isn't full Kryptonian. Now don't be all prejudiced, because Conner's an awesome person and your counterpart loves him… but he was created by Cadmus and the Light using your DNA… and Luthor's._

"And my brother… My counterpart's brother. He would never have been created if not for Luthor."

_It was awful being down there for Kaldur. His dad really did care for him you know? And… Kaldur loved him a lot, too. Even when we were planning to take him down… he talked to me every night, about how he might change Manta's mind. How he would get permission to visit him if we won, if we got him in Bel Rev… It sort of became our secondary mission on the sub._

"And there was a villain, Black Manta… he's still bad, I think, but his son loves him a lot, and thinks he can change him. I… I would feel terrible, if I loved someone, and someone else didn't give them that chance…"

He sinks back into one of the chairs, head in his hands. "What if I was wrong? Because I could kill Luthor now, and maybe prevent whatever he's planning next. But he's brilliant. He might be curing cancer, or ending world hunger, or making me a baby brother. How do I say, _now _he's irredeemable? That he has nothing good left to offer? And if I could say that, would I be able to do any good if I'm that heartless?" He can feel his conviction returning as he mutters through these thoughts. His parents were always good about that, about getting him to see the right path, and to walk it with confidence. Finally, he sighs. "You're right. As always. Thank you for helping me see things clearly again. Even if the answer is frustrating."

His Pa pats him on the back, and his mom pulls his hands between her own, forcing him to look at them.

"You know we're always glad to help, Son."

XxXxX

Diana finds Shayera in one of the training rooms, attempting to mutilate a perfectly good sparring bot.

"You did a good job, y'know, with the explanations and stuff." Shayera compliments without pausing in her assault.

"Thanks." Diana watches her fellow heroine punch, block, kick, dodge, and finally, pull out her mace and smash, the bot. "Feeling better?"

"Not even a little."

"Want to talk about it?"

Hawkgirl gives her a look. "If you drag me into girl bonding over this, I am not painting my nails."

"It wouldn't do much good anyways." Once upon a time, Shayera would have taken offense at that. Once upon a time, Diana would have _meant_ offense.

"You're telling me. I haven't found a single polish that can withstand more than three punches without chipping. I don't know why Dinah bothers." They share a smile for a moment. "Wanna see if live sparring is more effective than bot-smashing?"

"Tempting. Not sure it's actually going to make you feel better though."

"No. Probably not." Shayera drops her mace, and flops down onto the mats, careful of her wings. "I'm exhausted, and all I want to do is push through it and keep hitting stuff."

Diana sits down, knees to her chin, and folds her arms around her legs. "I know the feeling." She's thinking of smashed cars and broken pool tables and Ares' war machine.

"Does it bother you that he lied to us?"

"…He seemed to have good reasons for it. Does it bother you that we didn't notice?"

Shayera's grip tightens on her mace. "No."

"It bothers me." Shayera immediately sits up at her friend's confession. "It's just…" She shrugs. "I thought we were family. Batman's supposed to be the mysterious loner. Not Wally."

Shayera can't argue with that, but she feels she needs to break the silence weighing in on them. "Do you have a sister?"

"All the Amazons are my sisters."

"I know, I mean… a biological sister. Artemis was telling me about the Team. They had a Donna – your little sister – for a while."

"That's a strange thought. I don't have a biological sister. I can't. My mother made me out of clay, and the God's blessed me with life."

"No kidding?"

"No kidding." Again, they're silent. Diana breaks it this time, and Shayera's glad they're not giving each other time to just be… contemplative. "I didn't get to speak with Artemis. What do you think of her? She seems… nice. Good name."

"Yeah. She's even an archer by trade, appropriately enough."

"Really? Why the sword then?"

Shayera lifts her wings in something like a shrug. "Says she gave it up after…" She waves her hand in a circle. "Everything."

"Ah. Of course. I hope she is able to pick it up again. It would be a shame for such a skill to go to waste. She's lost enough as it is."

Shayera thinks of Artemis' losses, and then her own. Her people, her family, her former life… she feels compelled to ask, "Do you think we would have been happier?"

"Hm?"

"It seemed like – in the other universe – that we were both on good terms with our people. Do you think we'd be happier if we could be with our families?" Diana looks her right in the eye for a moment.

"I am with my family."

"Okay, now you're getting too sentimental for me. I'm rested. Let's spar." She stands up and offers her hand to the other heroine.

"Very well."

Later, when they're both sweat-soaked and breathing hard after a good fight, she resists the urge to confess to Diana. _Me too. You all are my family too._

XxXxX

Bruce leaves the Watchtower alone, as always. He teleports to the Gotham and drives the single-passenger Batmobile back to an empty Cave. He puts his suit up in its case in the corner and ignores the space that could have been filled with other cases, other suits. He walks up to the main house and sees that Alfred has set him a plate in the family dining room. He sits down to eat without acknowledging the other seats, which have never been filled. When he finishes, he heads upstairs to bed. He never once looks at the doors he passes on the way, the bedrooms that he has never seen children in.

He's about to slip into his room when Alfred appears at the end of the hallway.

"Master Bruce! I apologize for being absent upon your return. I'm glad to see you are unharmed. Did anything of importance happen tonight?"

He answers quietly before continuing into his room, and closing the door firmly behind himself.

"No, Alfred. Nothing important happened."

XxXxX

**AN:**

What? You thought Batman was going to talk about his feelings? Silly reader.

But yeah, this fic finally passed the Bechdal Test! That was harder than I thought. Sorry if it was a bit stilted, but once I realized I was close to finally passing it, (seriously, the only other girl-girl scene was in Ruminations and Shay and Arty spent the WHOLE time talking about Wally) I couldn't bear to bring it back to Wally/the other guys/etc. like I originally intended.

As always, hope you liked it, I'd love to hear about it even if you didn't. It really does affect what I write (like this chapter. This was not here last week, then everyone wanted more reactions, and I got inspired).

P.S. I really do believe in most of the arguments I gave Superman not to kill, but I don't think they hold up for the Joker. He's nuts, and if Batman won't kill him, some cop needs to just shoot him next time he's threatening them.


	11. Anticipation

Ch 9: Anticipation

**PSA: **With work, it's hard to update Friday mornings now, so I'll be trying to update between Thursday night and Saturday morning. Sorry 'bout that, y'all.

XxXxX

The familiar growl of Wally's stomach is what wakes her in the morning. He tugs on her hair and says, "Mmm. Alarm's going off. We should get breakfast." Waking up like this is wonderful. It's just so familiar, so _normal, _that she can't help the euphoria that bubbles up inside her, escaping first as a giggle, then as full bellied laugh.

He joins her laughter, and loses himself enough to fall off the bed. Artemis just laughs more when his outraged face pops up over the edge. Eventually, after much laughter and several thrown pillows, they giggle through the process of getting washed and dressed for the day. Artemis tries to stall for one more pillow-shot, but Wally apparently isn't going to wait anymore. He dodges, scoops her up over his shoulder and, despite her kicks and protests of "Put me down, Baywatch," they're suddenly in the Watchtower's cafeteria.

"Milady, breakfast is served."

"Jerk." She huffs, and crosses her arms, ignoring his cocky grin in favor of breakfast. It really has been quite a while since she last ate.

She ignores the stares as they go through the line to get food. She ignores the stares as they pick an empty table and sit down. She ignores the stares as they eat. When she knocks a cup off the table with a sudden clang, and finds a crossbow in her face, she stops ignoring it.

"Are you _kidding_ me, Ollie?"

"Excuse _me _for being a bit twitchy towards the villain-turned-heroine-from-another-dimension. Especially when _Batman_ is pulling the strings, keeping secrets from the people. For all we know, she's just another Lord."

"C'mon, GA. I'll vouch for her!"

"Excuse me for not taking your word when it comes to a pretty face."

Bystanders were as surprised as Ollie that it was not Flash who took offense to that, but Artemis. One moment, she's sitting tensely at the table, the next; she's on her feet, the throat of the Green Arrow uniform clenched in her hand.

"You have a problem with me? Fine. But do not. Insult. My boyfriend. He'd give his life for you. He _has _given his life for you, regardless of me. You will trust him accordingly."

"Tch. That still brings us back to the original problem. Why should I trust _you_?"

"Arrows always trust one another. Cardinal rule of a non-powered superhero." Artemis sneers, and watches Ollie's eyes widen despite the mask.

"Are you saying… _I _trained you?"

Artemis nods. "Your counterpart in my dimension did."

He looks thoughtful now. "Prove it."

She releases his uniform and stares at him for a moment, arms crossed. "Okay." She slips her leg between his, hooking it around his ankle and yanking to the side. When he jerks to keep his balance she grabs the wrist of one of his flailing arms and twists it behind his back even as she leans forward to take advantage of his now-weak stance. In two seconds they're on the ground; him pinned beneath her with his arm behind his back.

"That," he huffs, face in the floor, "was a Canary move."

"Congrats for recognizing it. She was in charge of our Team's training for a couple years. Also, in our world, you're not such a complete _ass_ so she likes you a lot more. You've been together longer than I've known you. Of course she'd give a few extra lessons to your partner."

"Ouch Babe. That was harsh." Wally offers her his hand and she takes it to stand up, releasing Ollie with a smirk.

"Yeah, but you've seen him with Roy. It takes a lot to get through his thick skull."

"Okay. So you've got Canary's moves and my cutting wit." Wally and Artemis snort, but Ollie ignores them. "But that doesn't mean you can shoot."

More than a little annoyed at being tested by now, Artemis puts her hands on her hips and says, not a little sarcastically, "I'd show you how well I can shoot, but I don't have an arrow set with me. Oh well."

"Oh, you are not getting out of this that easily. I'll get you a bow and arrows, and I'm going to watch you shoot."

As much as she would like to just take Ollie hand to hand and make him shut up, Artemis suddenly realizes that she can use this to her advantage. She assumes her best 'M'gann' voice. "Really? Thanks so much! That's really generous of you. Of course, I'm going to need a new uniform too, to go with it." She grabs Wally's hand and starts pulling him towards the door. "I've got to go right now, but I'll send you my measurements and some designs. I think I want something in your colors, so that'll be easy for you. I'll come pick them up on Wednesday, from the Arrow Cave, okay? Thanks! See you then!" With that, she makes her exit from the dumbfounded Green Arrow and dozens of other League heroes.

Hawk watches her go and leans over to say to his brother, "I change my mind. I like her."

XxXxx

"What was that about?" Wally asks as they head towards the teleportation bay, taking a quick detour to the detention cells to get Artemis' confiscated things.

"Ollie was offering a bow and arrows, and I need a new costume to be Artemis again. Plus, I really wanted to tick him off. Two birds, one stone."

"When did you get so manipulative, Beautiful?"

"A girl picks these things up when she spends as much time as I have infiltrating villain's lairs."

"Right. I keep forgetting."

They're silent for the short time it takes them to reach the cells where her stuff is kept. At that point, Wally can't resist breaking the mood.

"How do I look, Babe? Think I could be a swordsmen?" He asks, waving her sword around.

"So help me if you impale yourself on that thing…"

"C'mon, have some faith!" Of course, at that exact moment he trips. He manages to catch himself, but gets the sword lodged in the table. She glares. "Erm… Oops. Sorry?" He rubs the back of his head. She's always found that too cute to stay mad at him for long.

"Yeah, yeah. Help me pull this out, Kid Crash."

"Alright I deserved that…"

By some miracle of luck, when they finally make it to the teleportation bay, Artemis' weapons are all more-or-less intact.

"Beam us down to Central City please, Scotty."* Wally jumps up onto the teleportation platform.

"No," Artemis interjects, "Send us to Happy Harbor."

Wally looks back at her. "Uh, seriously, Babe?" _Feeling nostalgic? _He doesn't say.

She pulls him to the side, out of the technician's hearing. "The League got one thing right. The Cave is an excellent hiding place. That's where all of my stuff is. I haven't checked in since the Legion went on lock down. Everyone's probably going crazy."

"Wait, you can contact everyone else?!"

Artemis nods.

Wally wheels around, pulling Artemis on to the platform. "Tech! Send us down to Happy Harbor, Rhode Island! ASAP!"

XxXxX

Wallace Rudolph West, despite how he's had to act for these past few years, is not a stupid man.

He understands the math, the physics, of what happened to him in the Artic. He's familiar with the leading theories of space-time and the multiverse. He's more than intelligent enough to put the two together and develop a rough estimate of how he ended up, alive and well, in this universe.

That was why, when he first arrived, he was able to put two and two together very quickly (well, technically he put epsilon-nought and a Lagrangian coefficient** together very quickly). When his friends seemed to disappear, his League comm went dead, and civilians freaked out at the sight of him, all just after he had been disintegrated by an unstable, high-energy vortex? He made an educated guess. It only took fifteen minutes on Google to mentally declare his theory confirmed.

It took another few hours of searching (and a little morally dubious hacking), before he had begun to panic. He was definitely in another dimension. He was also definitely stuck.

His 'allies' wouldn't know him, and had no reason to believe him. The tech he would need to get home was nowhere near being developed, and he wouldn't be able to speed said development along without funding and resources he had no way to get. He didn't even know enough about Reach tech to risk getting back the same way he came.

His one boon was that Wally West didn't seem to exist here. He could make himself a life here, even if it wasn't the one he had wanted.

The first time he whipped by Happy Harbor in this dimensions, he was on a League mission. It was the mountain that made him realize where he was. He stopped and stared at it, a wave of nostalgia and homesickness overwhelming him. That day, Wally wept harder than he had when _their _Mt. Justice was destroyed. He hadn't been back since.

Until now.

"Wow babe, I like what you've done with the place." He whistles in appreciation when they finally get past her layers of security. The inside is reminiscent of their old cave, though it definitely has its own distinct flair. He's not sure if the place is actually styled in a more mature manner, or if he's being fooled by the copious amounts of advanced tech and the lack of rebellious teenagers. He decides to be generous and attribute it to both.

"Oh _man _this stuff is nice. Zeta and teleportation platforms…. Global monitoring system…. Pantry full of rations…. Mmm, cheese whizzies … Holy Cow! Is this a full analysis laboratory? You even have a scanning auditory microscope! Those things are _so _cool! I got to see one at MIT once, and I've been trying to subtly hint to Bats that the League needs one, but it's not like I could outright say it, ya know? Ooh! I don't even know what this is!"

"It's TD tech."

"What?"

"Trans-Dimensional Technology."

"…Why did you guys let Conner name it"

"That obvious?"

"Hoooo yeah." They burst out laughing.

"But seriously, do you do this in every dimension? That's gotta be expensive. All this tech, weapons supplies, food, a pretty decent looking bunk, not to mention security. Batman can't be bankrolling this whole operation."

"Well, technically he's not." Wally raises his eyebrow and she explains, "Most of the time, the Batman of whatever universe we're in helps out."

"Seriously? How did you guys pull that?"

"How do you think?"

"Dick." He says with no hesitation.

"Bingo. Haven't met a Bat yet that can say no when that boy bats his metaphorical eyelashes." She shakes her head in amusement, but notices her boyfriend's smile no longer reaches his eyes. "You okay, Babe?" She asks, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze.

"Yeah… I'm good."

"Do you want me to call them?"

Wally's quiet a moment, but finally breathes deeply and nods. "Do it."

XxXxX

Dick all but lunges for his communicator when he sees who's calling. "Artemis?"

"Way to break protocol, Troll Wonder. You don't know that this line is secure yet. What ever would the Bat say?" God, it's good to hear her voice.

"That you're a hypocrite for lecturing me on procedure when you haven't checked in for more than two weeks."

"Not my fault the Legion's HQ is basically a giant Faraday Cage. No signals in or out. Speaking of, we should work on that. It's a little embarrassing that we can get reception across dimensions, but we don't have anything to bootleg a signal out of a metal building."

"Noted. I'll speak to Kid Flash about it. I'm sure he and Bumblebee can jimmy something together. Now talk. Why were you stuck with the Legion for two week without warning?"

"I'd prefer not to have to talk about it twice. Can we get the rest of the team on the line?"

"I'm already patching through to Oracle. She should have us routed through to the others in less than twenty seconds." She's silent for a moment, and he continues. "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Yeah." He doesn't like the sound of that, but is interrupted before he can comment on it.

"Tigress. You are unharmed?"

"I'm good, Kaldur."

"I am glad to hear that."

"Artemis! You're okay!" M'gann's voice patched through next.

"It's good to hear from you too, M'gann."

"Sorry, had to slip out of a meeting, Tigress made contact?"

"I'm here, Conner."

Nightwing cuts him off. "Okay, okay, we got it. Artemis is fine. I know we're all relieved. Can we talk about why you went off the grid now?"

"I'm sorry about that, guys. The Legion called an emergency session, then we went into lock down."

"Why the sudden security protocols?"

"…They had captured the Flash." They all gasp at that.

"Is... Is he…?" M'gann tries to ask.

"No. I got him out."

"Are _you _okay?" Dick asks instead.

"Yeah. The rescue blew my cover, but Batman vouched for me with the League. Eventually."

"You know that's not what Nightwing was asking, Artemis."

"I know, Kaldur. I'm… better than I've been in a while."

Conner finally comments with the words Dick is thinking. "Are you falling in love with him again?"

"Oh my god, you guys! It was one time! Let it go!"

As always, Kaldur is the peacemaker. "We do not mean to offend, Artemis. We are simply worried for you."

"We know how hard this has been for you, Artemis. We just want you to know we care." M'gann adds.

"I know, M'gann. I really do." The line is silent; Nightwing can practically hear everyone waiting for Artemis continue. "You guys, I… I have some bad news and some good news."

"The Anomaly is there." Dick doesn't need Batman's lessons level to figure that out.

"I believe so."

"Do you need back up?"

"No. I'm not certain it's here. Continue your operations, I just need you on alert in case I need emergency support."

"Roger that."

"Artemis, what's the good news?"

"I..." She's silent for a moment, as if she suddenly changed her mind on what to say. "I think I should tell you guys in person. Could everyone free up a couple hours next weekend to meet?" They answer in the affirmative, and slowly work out the details on when it's possible for them to all get together. Nightwing will have to move a few things around, but Dick doesn't mind. He's glad he'll get to see so many of his friends – his family – together again. Artemis having good news is just a bonus. They _need _some good news.

One by one the other three sign off, until it's just him and Artemis again. He has to say one more thing before he hangs up. "Artemis… take care of yourself, okay? If you need us, use the signal. We'll be there for you."

"I know, Dick. Thank you."

"I'll talk to you soon."

The line goes dead.

XxXxX

**AN:**

*Of course, Wally is aware 'Beam me up, Scotty' was never said in any of the shows or movies. After years and years of banging his head against the wall trying to explain that to people/trying to get people to recognize any of the 'legitimate' quotes, he broke down and began using the pop-culture misenclature.

**I decided to go swimming instead of actually looking at the theoretical math behind popular interdimensional mechanics theories, so take this with a grain of salt. Still, it didn't seem completely unreasonable to apply Lagrangian methods to solve some of the electromagnetic equations that would no doubt be involved, so I'm sticking with it. That way, I can pretend I got something useful out of math this year.

Also, originally, there was going to be this ridiculous, big-lipped alligator moment where Ollie and Artemis have a best-two-out-of-three competition, and all the leaguers are betting on it, etc. etc. I restrained my self; you're welcome. I still think it would have been fun though.

Wow my author's notes are getting long. I need someone to talk to about this stuff. Anyone wanna Beta?


	12. Adaptation

Ch 10: Adaptation

**AN: You all can celebrate. I have a beta now. Introducing, the wonderful FlopsyTheStingyDingo. She's been awesome this week, making me write stuff in a decent time frame and giving me ideas when I got stuck. Thank her, everybody! I wouldn't have been able to do the Ollie/Artemis challenge without her. (P.S, thank you guys for asking me to do that. It didn't turn out how I wanted, but I'm glad I got a shot at it. Y'all make me so happy.)**

XxXxX

Artemis hangs up the call and turns around to see her boyfriend staring sadly at the communication system.

"You okay, Baywatch?"

He blinks a few times and then looks at her. His eyes are shining.

"Of course. I'm just… you're… they…" He sinks to his knees and puts his face in his hands.

"Wally! Shh! Shh, shh shh. It's okay!" She sinks down next to him and rubs circles on his back. He just shakes his head, face still in his hands.

"I know. I'm… I'm fine." She continues rubbing his back while he breathes. "I haven't heard their voices in so long." He finally whispers. "They don't exist here! Believe me, I looked. I know you're alive! You're here! And it still keeps hitting me every three seconds that you're really you. And they're really them, after all this time… I shouldn't have chickened out. I should have talked to them…"

"No, Wally, you're fine. You didn't chicken out. You're right that they'll want to see you in person." He doesn't speak, so eventually she adds, "C'mon, Baywatch. We just need to get through this week. We'll have to cut our trip to Paris short, but this time next week, everyone's going to be here. M'gann's probably going to cry, and then try to make you cookies, and, and Conner might try to punch you, and Kaldur will probably stand in the corner trying not to be emotional, and Dick is totally going to tackle you – actually, twenty bucks he's actually speechless for a minute."

Her rambling does the trick. Wally sniffles, wipes his eye, and gives her a half smile. "Dick, speechless? Never. I'll raise you thirty-five against."

"You're on." She grins back.

"What… what then? I definitely want the team to know first, but after? When can I go back and, and see everyone?"

"Once everyone is willing to let you out of their sight, we can borrow one of their transporter beacons and visit home right away, if you want."

"Yeah… that sounds nice." He's contemplative for a minute, before suddenly seeming to remember something. "Oh! We better check out if they have a Mipsy's here, because if they don't we better find another cute café that M'gann will approve of. Maybe get some lunch while we're at it?"

"Sounds like a date."

**…**

XxXxX

Monday:

Keystone's Sunnyside Apartment Complex

"And the best part is they have a laundry room down the hall, on the same floor!" Wally's excitement is adorable. The run-down flat is hardly the awesome pad he's been describing, but it's cute. Definitely masculine, though. Artemis will definitely have to add a few of her own touches, though. Make it a little less bachelor and a little more _them._

"Babe, you have super speed. That is literally of zero concern to you." Of course, if she's able to get a job, they might be able to afford to move into something a little bigger in a couple months… and she should know better than to plan for the long term by now.

"Yeah, but I know how much you hated going down to the laundry mat and carrying laundry up the stairs in our old home, so I thought you'd care."

"That's… really sweet. Thanks." As he continues his 'grand tour' she begins to notice a pattern, especially over the feature's he's excited about. She can't help but blurt out, "This place is the exact opposite of ours…"

He stills. "Yeah… that's kind of what I liked about it. It doesn't remind me of you." She pulls him into a hug when he tries to look away in chagrin.

"Wally, I-" She's interrupted by a knock.

"Wallace, dear! Is that you?" Wally pulls back.

"Yes ma'am! I'm coming!" He rushes over to throw open the door. "Mrs. Robertson! It's good to see you!" He throws his arms around the gray-haired woman in the doorway. She's a short, thin little thing, but Artemis can see the steel in her eyes. It's the same look she's seen on her mother, Wally's Aunt Iris, and Ma Kent. It's the look that says, 'You may be more physically able than I am, but you are _my _child and you will listen to me.'

"It's good to see you too, dear. I was so worried! Mr. Malone called to let me know that you got sick at your conference, and asked me to water your plant. Honestly, dear, it's just rude for your boss to keep sending you to these last minute conferences. It's not good for the body to be under such sudden stress. No wonder you got so sick! Did they get you to a good hospital? Treat you right?" Wally must be used to her mothering, as he merely steps aside, allowing the woman to barge into the apartment and begin inspecting the place with a practiced eye. It seems to meet her approval, because she nods and turns back to them, waiting sweetly for his answer.

"Yes ma'am. Really, I promise I'm fine." She looks at him critically, so he continues. "Look, I even met one of my old friends from Happy Harbor! She stayed with me though my whole… ordeal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Robertson." Artemis shakes the woman's hand.

"Oh, you're such a polite girl. You must be Megan. Wally's told me all about how kind you are. Didn't exaggerate what a pretty girl you are, either."

"Um, actually, I'm Artemis."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Wally's told me lots about you, too."

Wally's looking nervous now, and Artemis glares at him. "What exactly has he been saying about me?" She asks as politely as she can. The older woman just laughs.

"You were right on the money, Wallace. She's exactly the little spitfire you described."

"Don't I know it." Wally grins at them, but remains out of Artemis' swatting range.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Artemis. Wally's told me all about you and your other friends from high school. Megan, Dick, Kal and Conner? The way Wally tells it, you six sure got into a lot of trouble for a comic book club."

Artemis snorts and mutters. "That's an understatement." Mrs. Robertson smiles knowingly at the two.

"Well. I won't take any more of your time. Artemis – take care of this one. He's an ornery one."

"Don't worry. I'll watch out for him."

"Good." She turns to Wally. "You're looking thin, dear. Come over later. I have some extra pot roast you two can share with me. I'll make some cookies too, and we can get some meat on those bones." She pokes his ribs. "You really ought to eat more, dear."

She turns and heads right back out the door, not allowing either of them a chance to protest. Artemis follows her to the doorway, and watches her return to her own apartment down the hall. Wally comes up behind her and throws his arm over her shoulder.

"So, what do you think?

"I like this place. We should stay here."

XxXxX

Tuesday:

Central City Animal Shelter

"Please?"

"No."

"But he's so cute!"

"No."

"But I-"

"No."

"C'mon, Babe! I'll feed him and walk him and he doesn't have to sleep in the bed with us."

"You and I both know I'm going to be the one doing most of the work."

"Hey! I'm super responsible! I volunteer here all the time, _and_ I help at out the orphanage every weekend."

"And yet I can't get you to unload the dishwasher."

"That's because my dishwasher is evil."

"It's not evil. You just weren't patient enough to wait for the silverware to cool down after it finished running."

"You're deflecting me!"

"Fine, let's talk about the real issue here. Nelson's too old to want to hang out with a puppy. We can't put him through that."

"You still have Nelson? Where is he? Who's taking care of him while you've been… y'know? Are they giving him enough love?"

"Don't worry, Wally. The Harpers are taking care of him."

"Oh, good, I- wait. You left our dog with Roy and your psycho sister!?"

XxXxX

Wednesday:

The Watchtower

"Twenty on Artemis."

"Fifty on Green Arrow"

"A hundred says they tie."

"One fifty says they murder us for betting on them."

"No bet."

Artemis smirks at the murmured words from the heroes that line the wall of the Watchtower's largest training room. When she and Wally had invaded his cave ("Told you I knew his passcodes, Wally. And you wanted to knock."), Oliver had presented her with a bow, a set of arrows, and even a new uniform, but had suggested they compete for her to have the right to keep them. Artemis was more than happy to accept. Somehow, between teleporting up to the Watchtower and actually arriving in the gym, they had picked up a crowd of followers. Seriously, did nobody in the League have anything better to do than watch drama play out and gossip about it?

"All right, everybody. Calm down." As things began to spiral out of control, Black Canary volunteered to referee. Artemis didn't have a problem with that, and Ollie was more than happy to show off for his sorta-maybe-girlfriend. "This is going to be a good clean competition between _allies," _she stresses. "We'll have three challenges today, winner takes best two out of three. Green Arrow, you get to choose the first challenge."

"Archery. Points for distance, accuracy and movement," he calls without hesitation. Artemis didn't expect any less, but she's still nervous. It's been too long since she held a bow, and the warm up time they were given earlier wasn't nearly enough to get back into her game.

"All right. There's going to be two stages to this one. You each get thirty seconds and five arrows to rack up as many points as you can from the middle line. Then you get three shots and unlimited time at the back line to show off your sniping skills. Moving targets are double points. Archers to the line."

Ollie is cool as a cucumber. She'd done enough of these drills under Green Arrow's tutelage in her teenage years to guess that this version of him practiced this regularly.

"Draw!"

She takes a breath to calm her nerves and still her fingers. She's supposed to be Wally's partner. Artemis, the Archer. She could do this.

**"**Aaaannnd….. Begin!"

She flinches when she sees her first shot went wide. Her grip on the bow must have been too tight, and it pulled. She needs to get her head in the game. Ollie's already gotten two off, both in the bulls-eye of the stationary target in front of him.

She fumbles with the second one even as he gets another stationary bulls-eye, and an 18-point hit on one of the swiftly moving targets above them. Painfully aware of the seconds ticking down, she lets her mind drift back, back to before…. She visualizes her old favorite trick shot, and her fingers drift down to brush her remaining arrows. She swiftly nocks and fires, releasing all three arrows simultaneously. They're not dead center, but they're close. Ollie's look of shock is worth it; his final arrow is buried in the wall, aim thrown off by his surprise at her trick.

"And… time. Current score's 48-34, to Green Arrow. Archers, retrieve your arrows, return to the farthest line."

It could be worse. She's not as far behind as she could be, and Artemis wasn't really expecting to win the shooting portion anyways. Plus, she's in the zone now.

"Archers to the line. Ready. Fire at will." Artemis forces herself to relax her stance, letting her eyes follow the moving target she's chosen. She pictures the Anomaly, a black swirling nothing, the cause of her pain and heartbreak. In her minds eye, she can see herself running it through with her arrows, giving it a permanent end. She releases the bowstring. Then she does it again. And again.

Ollie's eyeing her. They both hit the bulls-eye of the moving targets for all three shots, even if his are closer to the actual center. She can tell he's raising his eyebrow under the mask. He's wearing his favorite smirk. She knows what that smirk means.

_So that's how you want to play?_

Bring it on.

"First event scores, 108-94, to Green Arrow."

"That was some sweet shooting, girlie, but I think I might need to give you a few more lessons." Artemis huffs at Green Arrow's condescension.

"Artemis chooses the second event." Black Canary continues as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Swordsmanship would be grossly unfair, so let's go with hand-to-hand combat." She says, fixing the bow to her back.

"Don't sound so smug. You're not going to catch me by surprise like you did the other day."

"Keep telling yourself that, Arrow." They take their places on the mat.

"First one pinned for ten seconds loses. On my mark."

"Whenever you're ready, sweetheart."

"Alright, but remember, you asked for it."

"Go!"

Ollie falls into a defensive stance, and right away she can see three openings. Tch. He really needs to get on Canary's good side and get some help already.

She comes in with a feigned kick to the knee, taking advantage of his too-high guard. He's forced to step back to avoid it, but because his back foot was turned too far out, this leaves his stance weak. She tries not to give it away when he catches her follow though punch, only to be yanked to the side as she twists her body and brings her other arm around to strike his shoulder instead. As she did the last time, she takes advantage of this kneeing him in the stomach and kicking out his front ankle. He goes down in a heap, and she plants a foot on his neck.

"You really make this too easy."

"Second round goes to Artemis," Black Canary calls out after Ollie's few struggles to get up fail, and time ticks down. "Green Arrow, choose the third competition."

He's quiet for a moment, thinking, but finally says, "Agility."

"You sure about that old man?"

"Positive, little girl. No way you can keep up with my katas."

"Tch. Try saying that after you've seen what I can do." She spent years training with an aerialist and an Olympic-class gymnast after all.

Black Canary agrees that they can each lead a kata, increasing the difficulty until one or the other of them is unable to complete a move, in accordance with her judgment.

Ollie chose the competition, so Artemis leads the first kata; a simple flowing exercise that nevertheless loosens her up.

He's clearly unimpressed. She recognizes the stance he shifts into for his exercise. It's a faster kata that requires more dexterity than the one she chose. It's also one of her favorites.

Just to show off, she mirrors him as he dives into a roll, her muscles doing an even better job of remembering this kata than her mind. They push out of the roll together, spin and fire off a shot at one of the targets, almost completely in sync. Ollie hit the nine-ring. She only hit the eight.

She grits her teeth, ignoring their shots and reminding herself that this set is about agility, not accuracy. When he looks over at her with a smug expression, though, she loses it. She charges at him, enjoying his expression of surprise. At the last moment, she skips around him and jumps against the wall, using it as leverage to jump into a series of back handsprings, rolling the last one into a back flip. Thank you, Nightwing.

He doesn't even try. If anything, he's trying not to look impressed. When she crosses her arms and tilts her head, inviting him to try, he throws his hands in the air. "Fine! I concede! You're decent enough meet Arrow standards."

"Thanks for that glowing praise, Ollie." She rolls her eyes. Suddenly, Wally's there, throwing his arms around her from behind.

"Yay! I knew you could do it! And you get a cool new costume!"

"No stealth tech though," she bemoans.

"Hm. I guess. At least it shows your midriff."

She elbows him in the stomach. "You're incorrigible."

XxXxX

Thursday:

First National Bank of Keystone City

"And that's why it keeps coming back, mate." Captain Boomerang says, brandishing his signature weapon toward one of the hostage bank tellers.

"Quit with the puns so we can get out of here, Digger. If we get busted for this, my wife's going to kill me." Captain Cold admonishes.

"Why the rush? Flash's gone. I can stand here and think up puns as long as I want, and there's no one that can stop me." Sam Scudder rolls his eyes, but opts to continue helping Mirror Master 'liberate' the money in the bank vault rather than continue arguing with the Australian rogue.

"You're wrong on both counts, Boomer!"

"Flash!" The red blur that had just arrived on the scene is suddenly obscured by the colors of the Trickster on a hugging warpath. "You're alive!"

"Missed you too, Tricks, but I'm back now. We'll play darts, yeah? I'll bring my friend – she has awesome aim – but right now I'm gonna have to take down you and your buddies though, okay?"

"Aw, Flash! Not again!" The rogue draws back from the hug.

"No, you're right. Not again," a voice emanates from behind the Flash. His reflexes are quick – he wheels around to face the Pied Piper and takes a step back... Only to find himself surrounded by the Top's namesake weapons, and brought to his knees by the high-pitched screech emanating from them.

Wally's vision swims, though he's hyper aware that his rogue's gallery has encircled him, and that they're closing in on him.

Captain Boomerang sneers, "Hypersonic tops, Mate. Piper and Top put them together. Teamwork's a bitch when you're on the other side of it, eh?"

"Oh, how I do appreciate irony," a voice cuts in from the back corner. Something flies past the rogues, and lands just in front of Wally's knees. The screeching stops with a crackle, and his vision clears enough for him to see the object was one of Artemis's trick arrows.

"Wha-?" Mirror Master starts as he steps out of a mirror, but is cut off with a taser-arrow to the chest.

"Miniature EMP arrows, mate." She smirks at Captain Boomerang's flabbergasted expression.

"Oh yeah, guys. Did I mention I got a new partner?" Wally moves in for a knock-out punch.

"Well, shi-" Is all any of them have time to say.

XxXxX

Friday:

Somewhere on The Atlantic Ocean

"Just once, I'm going to actually _fly _to Europe."

"C'mon, Babe! It's fine! I promise I won't drop you!"


	13. Interlude: Bart

Interlude: Bart

**AN: Surprise! Special interlude chapter this week before the regular chapter! **

**I wanted to give a (very little) something back to you guys for all your awesome support. When I started this, it was just a little something I wanted to do to deal with Endgame. I never really thought people would like it, or that you'd want to keep reading more of it. Fixations now has over 150 comments, 100 favs and almost 150 followers. I even have an awesome beta! Maybe that's not a lot to some people, but for me, it's mind blowing. Y'all are the best!**

**In other news, I'm trying not to write any non-canon pairings in this, but I do like bluepulse, so read this however you will. It should be able to go both ways.**

XxXxX

"There you are, ese."

When Red Robin had mentioned that Kid Flash dropped off the radar this morning, Jaime had immediately guessed something was up. Guardian tried to assure him that the speedster's distress beacon hadn't been activated, and that he probably just wanted some quiet time. Jaime knew Mal was probably right, but when he hadn't found his friend in any of his usual hangout spots, he decided to play his hunch. When his aerial sweeps confirmed his guess, the hero quickly found an alley, deactivated his armor, and headed for his disheartened friend.

"S'not like I'm hiding or anything. Just being me," Bart grumbles from his seat on the steps leading up to Artemis's (not Artemis and Wally's, not for a while now) flat.

"Right, you moping on a staircase in a random city is 'just being you.'"

"I was out here anyways. I needed to water the plant." Bart says without missing a beat.

"Uh, you know the plant in the window is fake, right?"

"What! That's not- Are you- gah!" Bart crosses his arms and continues muttering indistinctly at his ruined excuse.

Jaime sits down next to the outraged speedster, and puts his arm around his friend's shoulders. "Why are you really here, Bart?" The younger boy shrugs, but doesn't throw off his friend's comforting arm. "Oracle sent out an update. Artemis checked in. She's fine. Has good news, even."

"Yeah. I heard."

"Why aren't you smiling, then?" Bart immediately flashes him a very bright, very fake grin. "Funny." Jaime says, not amused. The smile drops.

Finally, Bart sighs. "Y'know, in the bad timeline, my grandfather was supposed to die on the day I came back?" Jaime raises his eyebrows at that shocking bit of news. Bart doesn't often speak truthfully about his past-future, but every time he does, it's usually bad. "That's why I chose to come back then. We had some leeway with keeping you off-mode, but I thought, as long as I was coming back, might as well save my granddad, get Nathaniel off-mode... Save the word and my family and friends all in one fell swoop."

He laughs bitterly. "One of the first things I talked about when I got here was how much the Flash had taught my dad, and that's true. It's just that I was talking about Wally. He taught my dad and Aunt Dawn everything he knew, even the stuff he couldn't do himself, like vibrating through solid objects. He… He was more of a hero to them, to me, than anyone! And I killed him." Bart's blinking his eyes rapidly, but Jaime can still see them shining with unshed tears.

"He had years left, Jaime! He and Artemis were some of the greatest heroes of the resistance! They figured out how to turn Reach tech against itself! They taught tons of young heroes, kept us safe even as the League fell! They went toe-to-toe with Black Beetle, once! No one else has ever done that! Not to a fully-mature, moded Scarab!" The younger boy shakes his head in disbelief. "More than that, though... They were supposed to have a family; Irey Paula and Jai Oliver West. I didn't just kill my hero, or Artemis' husband. I killed their two little children. Artemis' whole family; gone because of me!"

Jaime exhales slowly at the confession. "Wow, that's... how long has this been eating at you? Why is it just coming out now?"

"…I should have been there for her."

"Whoa! Ese! Let's back it up a minute! You know why you can't go with them!" Jaime jumps up in outrage. Bart follows the older boy to his feet, getting up in Jaime's face as much as he can.

"I don't care if the Anomaly gets me by mistake! I'd deserve it!" It feels so good for Bart to finally say this out loud. He should be shouting it from the rooftops. _Take me! Take me instead! Give us my cousin back!_

"_Don't ever say that!" _Jaime snarls. He's breathing heavily, his hands shaking as he tries to calm back down.

_The threat to the Kid Flash is raising your heart rate. We should eliminate it._ The scarab says in the back of his head. Jaime wants to agree, but can't, so he says nothing in reply.

Bart just stands there looking shocked (not scared, there's no reason to be scared of Jaime, not anymore). Jaime recovers first, and so he continues, gently, "Bart, I could give you a million reasons why that's not true, and that it's a bad idea, and so on. But I think you know all that. So instead I'm just going to remind you how much _that _would hurt Artemis too." Jaime tries to meet his friend's eyes, but Bart has suddenly decided that the ground by his side is incredibly interesting.

"Bart?"

"It's not fair!" The boy suddenly wails, sinking to his knees. Jaime follows him down, pulling the crying speedster into a hug. "I killed him and she's smart so she has to know that, but she's still so nice to me – she's like my big sister – and she can't even move on because she has to keep watching him die. I can't even help her because the stupid Anomaly gets us confused! Then she disappeared and no one was saying it but everyone was thinking that she was dead, and I can't let her die. I owe her and Wally too much, and I can never repay those debts, but I should try and right now I can't even do that, I can't do anything!"

Jaime's glad for the scarab's ability to record and play back sound at slower rates; Bart was probably completely unaware of how much his words sped up as they poured from his mouth.

"Shh, ese, it's okay. Nobody blames you – not Barry or Iris or the Wests or Dick or even Artemis. They know it's not your fault. You're the only one who still needs to accept that fact."

Jaime continues his stream of comfort, until Bart stops shaking, and the front of Jaime's hoodie is more than a little damp. Bart sniffles one last time, and rubs at his eye.

"Feeling better?"

"…Yeah."

"Still blaming yourself?"

"… A little." Jaime frowns, but lets it go. At least it's improvement.

They sit together on the stairs for a while longer. Neither makes a move to leave, they just think.

"Jaime?" Bart eventually asks.

"Yeah, ese?"

"You know how all the other universes went on mode after Wally was killed, but ours didn't?"

**"**Wait, how was being invaded by Apokolips and everyone almost dying _not _on mode?"

"Yeah, but that's like, villainous on mode, not, like, crazy-League on mode."

"I guess. Yeah."

"Sometimes… I like to pretend that we're still crash because Wally's not really dead." Bart admits. "I mean, theoretically, the high levels of energy Wally's particles were dissipating could have ripped holes in the space-time continuum instead of just disintegrating him. If certain theories are right, I mean."

"Okay..."

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. But I just want him to still be out there, y'know? Maybe Artemis will find him, and they'll stop the Anomaly and she'll bring him home and everyone will live happily ever after. I like thinking that way."

Bart's smiling a little at the happy scenarios in his head, and Jaime can't bear to ruin it.

"Yeah. Yeah, maybe."


	14. Confrontations

Ch 11: Confrontations

**AN: Happy 4****th**** of July, everybody! Except my non-US readers, because it's the fifth of July for most of you, so Happy Fifth of July!**

**Also, thanks to everybody that let me know someone had started plagiarizing this story. It got taken down, but some of the author's other stolen stuff is still up. :( Crazy though, huh?**

XxXxX

"You know, we should stop coming to Paris." Wally calls, dodging another laser blast.

"Baywatch, if we stopped going to cities just because people attacked us there, we would eventually run out of cities." Artemis back rolls, taking cover behind a stone park bench. "And we can't give up. We haven't gotten the Louvre blown up yet. Obviously we're going to have to come back eventually."

They just wanted to spend one weekend in Paris – without a world crisis. Clearly, this was too much to ask.

They had spent the morning touring some of the most famous sites in Paris. Wally had dragged a (supposedly) reluctant Artemis to the Paris Museum of Science ("The biggest Science Museum in Europe! I know you secretly want to…") and she in turn forced him to walk ("Don't run! This is a Palace!") with her through Versailles. They had stopped at a café (well, four separate cafés in succession, for Wally) for lunch when things had gone wrong.

It started with a vortex in the sky. Red and black swirled, distorting light and casting and eerie glow across the city. "You know, I'm not even surprised. Is it a problem that I'm not even surprised?" Wally says calmly as they grab their bags and duck into an empty side ally.

"Nah. We're overdue for a Trans-dimensional vortex. Call it now; invading alien army or accidental magical backfire?" Artemis is changing quickly; glad to have a bow back in her hand for this fight.

"Mmm. No other similar incidents are being reported yet on League channels. I'm betting an accident."

"That's cheating. But fine. The Anomaly's probably making me paranoid, but I'm betting intentional. Loser does the dishes for a week." They've both changed now, and it is Flash who grabs Artemis and zips them to a more favorable (and familiar) battleground; Le Parc du Champ de Mars, at the base of the Eiffel Tour.

The… portal? is stabilizing now, and a figure steps through, standing in the sky as if the air were solid ground.

"_Cessez de regarder fixement! Sortez d'ici! Laisse-le_!*" Artemis calls to the few civilians left staring rather than running away. Even as she warns the bystanders off, she readies her bow.

The figure has noticed them now, and is flying closer. A hoard of smaller figures follows it from the portal.

They can see now that it is some sort of android. A super-powered android.

"Are those Ivo's MONQIs following it?" Artemis questions, as the smaller blurs get closer.

"Oh, Conner would love this." Wally mutters, and Artemis can't but let out a snort of agreement. Louder, he yells to the robot, "Oi! Robot-Android thing! This is the Flash, of the Justice League. You're invading a protected planet! Declare your intentions, or we're going to have to attack you!"

For a moment, the robot merely looks at them. Then, in monotone it declares, "I am Amazo. My directive is to eliminate the Flash. Prepare to die."

XxXxX

"_Why_ did you think that was a good idea?" Artemis screams at Flash from where she's taken cover from the MONQI's. They'd done a great job of tearing up the park so far, gouging up the earth and tossing heavy objects until the previously open park is littered with obstacles that are, thankfully, more obstructive to their enemies than to the two heroes.

"He looked like he needed a hug!" Wally's zipping between the obstacles, alternatively smashing MONQI's and hiding from Amazo.

"So you tried to make friends with him? He literally _just said _he was trying to kill you!"

"The Amazo we fought here just wanted a family! I thought it wouldn't hurt to try!"

"Wouldn't hurt? Now we have a flying, evolving android with _superspeed!_"

"I didn't say I was right! I'm just explaining what I was thinking! Ah!"

The topic of their discussion had finally caught up to the speedster, slamming him into the base of the Eiffel Tower. Artemis immediately leaps from her cover, taking a moment to shoot a flash-bang into the air to buy her enough MONQI-free time to take aim for Amazo. Her explosive arrows don't seem to do him any damage, but they give Wally a chance to roll away from him, and run, taking down a few MONQI's as he goes.

Amazo turns to face her, so she nocks two more of the arrows Ollie gave her.

_'These are only for an emergency. Use them both together, and make sure you're far away when you fire them. Like, really far away.'_

_'What are they?'_

_'Quantum arrows.'_

"You don't really believe this tactic will suddenly cease being ineffective," the android intones, allowing Artemis to take the shot without fear.

"I guess I deserve that, since you probably learned sarcasm from me. You can blame Flash for the hubris, though," she quips, and releases the arrows. They crackle to life in midair, forming an electromagnetic connection strong enough to be visible as they fly towards their target. Amazo only has a moment to look surprised before they sling around him, binding him up with their electromagnetic fields.** They wrap back around him and slam together in a flash of blinding light. Even from this distance, she's thrown back by the shockwave that emanates from the blast. Luckily, strong arms catch her before she slams into the ground, and she's carried to cover under a pile of fallen trees.

"That was impressive, Babe. What'd it do?"

"Not sure. Green Arrow gave them to me, but I've never used anything like that before. It better have worked though; those were the strongest arrows I had."

"Erm, that's kinda unfortunate," Flash says, peaking over the tree at the new crater where their foe had been. "He's kinda regenerating." Artemis mutters a string of curses under her breath, and pulls her quiver off her back to take stock of her arrows.

She glances between some of the branches and sees that the android has reassembled itself enough to begin scanning for them again. She also notices the slightly darker red of blood staining her boyfriend's leg and realizes why he didn't move in to finish the android or get them out of there while he could. "What happened?" She nods to his leg when he looks down at her.

"Some of the MONQI's got me when I was dodging Amazo," he admits.

"How bad is it?" That, he doesn't answer, but she sees a twinge of fear in his eyes. "Oh."

"I already tried calling in for help from the League. Only techs are left on the Watchtower. Apparently they had to bring in everyone when a bunch of 'robot monkeys' showed up and started interfering with their attack on the Legion."

Artemis closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and then opens them, her face serious. She pulls out a League-issued compress to make a quick patch for Wally's leg then slings her quiver back on. A swarm of MONQI's has organized and is closing in on them from all sides. They're out of time.

"We're on our own; there's no one else to call." With a last glance at her, Wally darts from their cover, drawing most of the robots off of her. She knows he won't last long. This more than qualifies as an emergency.

"Yeah, there actually is."

XxXxX

Conner's bored out of his mind, and that's putting it politely. He's a reporter as his cover here (and he is going to murder Clark for that suggestion when they finally get home) and is sitting in a press conference held by someone that he thinks might secretly be a supervillain, with boringness as a super power. That's the only explanation for how the man can _still _be droning on. His communicator buzzes, and he's immediately brought back to full alertness.

Glares from around the room roll off of him as he ducks out of the room with only cursory apologies, sure of what this is.

He only moves more urgently when he sees whose name is on the screen.

XxXxX

The 'phone's' screen displays a picture of a smirking blonde girl.

"Nightwing, someone's calling you." It had taken her weeks to learn enough about the mysterious new hero's patrol pattern to ambush him on duty. Then it had taken her far longer than normal to convince the man to let her patrol with him, and then to invite her back to his place. Now he was getting calls because he didn't even turn off his phone before he offered to get them some wine. She's not giving up on the night yet, though, and says disparagingly, "Some girl named Artemis?"

"What? No!" He dives for the table to check his phone, then immediately begins pulling his utility belt and other weapons back on. She pouts. It had taken her ages to get him to take those off.

"You're leaving? What's so special about her? Am I not… enough for you?" She makes sure to exaggerate her… ample assets as she leans over the couch to plead with him.

"Sorry, Kory. You're beautiful and all, but she's more important to me," he excuses himself as he leaves.

XxXxX

Kaldur doesn't excuse himself when he leaves. No, courtesy is for when the people you care for most aren't in danger. He simply hurries out of the League debriefing, ignores the confused questions behind him, and pulls out his TD teleportation 'remote.' He syncs it to the location of Artemis's distress call, presses the button, and watches the Watchtower dissolve around him.

XxXxX

M'gann's concern for her oven disappears as a battlefield seems to dissolve into place around her. Her teammates are in various states of materialization around her, but as soon as they're all fully present she pulls them into the mind link. She spots Artemis taking cover in under some trees and pulls their final teammates onto the mindlink. This world's Flash darts around the Eiffel tower trying to avoid a hoard of little robots.

_Artemis, report!_ Kaldur takes immediate control of the situation.

_It's not good. The Anomaly's sent us an Amazo and a whole bunch of MONQI's, and is keeping this League too busy for back up. I've already used my most powerful arrows, and Wally's been hit, so he's not exactly at top speed_. The Team mentally flinches when Artemis uses Wally's name (it's the Flash, never Wally, when they talk about the people they're protecting), but Artemis doesn't respond to the implicit accusation that she's been emotionally compromised again. Instead, she just adds candidly, _Also, Amazo has superspeed. Try not to let him see you, we really don't need him any more powerful_.

Artemis and Kaldur continue to confer even as the four newly arrived heroes leap into the battle.

XxXxX

Nightwing immediately heads for Flash's position; he needn't worry about Amazo seeing him and copying his powers like the others. As he approaches the iconic structure, he throws a few well-placed batarangs, destroying several MONQI'S and buying the Flash a little bit of breathing room. Flash promptly uses that room to backpedal away from him in shock.

"Holy cow! Where did you come from?" Dick internally frowns. He had assumed that if Artemis was working with this dimension's Flash that she at least had the courtesy to brief him on the situation. An uneasy feeling forms in his belly; she wasn't trying to woo Wally, without the baggage of his dead counterpart this time, was she?

"Relax, Flash. We're friends of Tigress's. I'm Nightwing, that's-"

"Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad. Yeah, I know, I'm-"

"Watch out!" Dick cries, shoving the Flash out of the way of another attack. Damn. It looks like Amazo was finally back from wherever it was he had retreated while he finished regenerating.

"Thanks, I was trying to say that I'm-"

"Fight now, talk later!" Dick calls, whipping out his escrima sticks to take on a trio of MONQI's that are tag-teaming them with Amazo.

_Holy similarities, Batman,_ he thinks. _Do all Wally's have to have such big mouths?_

XxXxX

*_Stop staring! Get out of here! Now!_

**This is complete BS, but I don't know what the Quantum Arrows 'technically' do, or how else to describe it.

**AN: **I'm so evil. See you guys next week! *Hides from the mob*


	15. Realizations

Ch 12: Realizations

**AN: **This is the most stressful chapter to write ever. I kind of feel like if you guys don't like this, I'm going to need to enter the witness protection program or something…

XxXxX

M'gann surveys the battlefield from her hiding spot amongst the beams of the Eiffel tower. She had camouflaged herself and followed Nightwing from above as Dick moved towards the Flash's position, which turned out to be lucky for him when she warned him of Amazo's approach. Now though, she can only discreetly eliminate MONQI's as the heroes below her attempt to hold their own against the super-powered android.

She mentally nudges the other heroes, filtering her vision into theirs so they can see Nightwing and Flash's predicament. _"Guys, they can't hold on much longer. We need to make a move now."_

_"We know, but we're pinned here unless we can take care of Amazo. Otherwise we'll just make him stronger," _Conner reminds her from where he and Kaldur are hiding with Artemis.

_"Wait, we don't have to take care of Amazo, just Amazo's vision!" _Dick's 'voice' is triumphant even as he's forced to block a set of super-fast punches from Amazo. Kaldur can't help but smile; Dick always gets excitable when fighting alongside a Wally. M'gann mentally slams two more MONQI's together, giving Flash a chance to accelerate and body-check Amazo away from their friend.

"_Of course!' _Artemis gestures to one of her remaining arrows._ 'I've got just the thing."_

Kaldur nods to her. "_Do it. Superboy and I will cover you."_

With that, Artemis rolls from behind their cover, and heads closer to the tower. She ignores the robots that flock towards her as she goes, trusting her teammates to have her back. Sure enough, she sees the pests being sliced apart by water or taken down by thrown rocks out of the corners of her eyes. She does note that Conner's aim has gotten much better since she and Dick started him on their training regime; several MONQI's are felled when pebbles hit dead-on the small weak points at their necks.

As she approaches, Dick throws down several smoke bombs and pulls Wally out of the way of her shot, not risking the Flash using his super-speed and blowing away the smoke. M'gann filters Conner's view into her own, allowing her to pinpoint the android with his infrared vision. For one brief heartbeat of a moment, she has a perfect, unblockable shot at his face. She takes it.

The arrow strikes true, and she watches their android foe falter as the smoke clears.

"_Asterous shot, 'Missy. Glad to see you haven't lost your moves with the bow, even after all this time."_

_"Can it, Troll Wonder. He's not down yet." _Her warning was meant to be cautionary, but even as she makes the quip, she sees the android's beginning to recover. The arrow she had sent into its face released foam that reacts with nitrogen, hardening quickly upon exposure to air. The now rock-solid foam coated his face, and should have eliminated his copying ability from the equation. Instead, however, she watches as the android's body seems to bubble.

"_He's adapting to it! Pull back!" _Kaldur orders too late. Amazo morphs, his body momentarily adopting the same shade of green as the foam, and he grimaces, the foam cracking off of his face in the process. He must have scanned its properties, taken its hardness for his own advantage even as he exploits its brittleness.

The android seems to grimace. "New Secondary Objective: Eliminate the allies of the Flash."

Wally watches in slow motion as the android lunges for the love of his life.

"Artemis!" He doesn't know who screamed – maybe him, but he's a bit busy running, so maybe it was someone on the Team. He does know that he's gaining on Amazo, pulling out stops he didn't know he had. Time slows down as he catches the robot, moves _through _its outstretched arms, and pulls his girlfriend out of the thing's reach. He skids to a stop at Dick's side, and something presses play for the world around him.

"Didn't see… that one coming... punk." He winces as the pain in his leg flares with the return of time. Whatever his super-healing had done for the injury, he just undid it with that move, possibly even tearing a few extra muscles apart while he was at it.

Artemis catches him as he starts to sink to the ground, helping him take the weight off his leg. Nightwing tosses her something; then takes a defensive stance between them and the now-confused robot. "Get another compress on that wound. We're going to need him again."

XxXxX

M'gann watches in horror as the battle unfolds below her. She's managed to create a sort of telekinetic bubble, keeping the MONQI's within Kaldur and Conner's range while the other three take on the bigger threat. When the android turns from his failed attack on Artemis to make a move on all three at once, she knows there's no way they can block it with the Flash down for the count. They _will _die if he makes it to them, and she won't let that happen.

She lurches towards the android, pulling him away from the other heroes with all of her telekinetic strength. She doesn't realize she dropped her camouflage to do so until a new voice rings in her head.

_'That was a mistake._' A squeezing pressure wraps around her body and mind, and she struggles to respond, struggles even to breathe. She can feel the others in her mind, trying to help her strengthen her mental walls even as Amazo hammers at them at rapid-fire speed. Finally, her concentration breaks, and Amazo uses that flicker of lost focus to overwhelm her telekinesis and toss her towards the ground.

A limping red blur catches her at the last moment, saving her from serious injury. In the distance, she sees Dick throwing explosive batarangs at the robot, temporarily overwhelming it with its newly-acquired weakness, while Artemis forgoes her bow to pull out a sword from the sheathe attached to her quiver.

"Dang. That was badass, Megalicious," a voice in her ear murmurs as Flash stands her up. It's so familiar that she mentally reaches out to him out of reflex. It takes her a moment to comprehend that this shouldn't be _so _familiar, that those shouldn't be _her _tracks etched into his mind. It's not possible, but it is, she can see the story plain as day in his secondary thought processes. Without thinking, she wraps around his mind, confirming the truth with every twist of memory, every familiar scar. In her shock, she calls out.

"_Wally?!"_

XxXxX

"_Wally?!" _Dick's a good soldier; he's been doing this too long to be distracted from the fight by M'gann's mental cry. At least, until the wave of _sorrowjoyshockconfusiondisbelief _that follows washes over him and he realizes what happened.

No.

It's not possible.

But it is, because M'gann says so, because she's letting them _feel _how possible it is.

Wally's alive.

He's alive, and he's _here._

Even without M'gann's powers, he can feel how the link feels better, more _whole _than it has in years.

Then M'gann pulls Wally into the link all the way and he can feel his best friend in the back of his mind. Their collective thoughts speed up as they have the advantage of speedster processing back on their side, and everyone can take a minute (millisecond) to understand what's happening.

"_You're really alive." _He thinks, before he realizes he just stopped his movements mid-block. Amazo takes advantage of his fumble.

Dick knows a brief instant of pain, then darkness.

XxXxX

Conner has always been the best at dealing with surprises like these. Maybe it's Cadmus programming, maybe it's the Luthor genes, but Conner's more than able to roll with life's newest punch. It's certainly not the strangest thing that's happened to them, and for once it's at least a _good _surprise.

So when he sees Dick crumple beneath Amazo's blow, he's the first to jump into action. Kaldur freezes for the first time that Conner's ever seen, M'gann's still trying to soothe the reverberations upsetting the mental link, Wally's trying to get to his friend, but all the speed in the world can't compensate for a bum leg, and Artemis is just trying to survive the onslaught of Amazo's newly focused attacks. Conner leaps from their hiding place, landing between Amazo and Artemis in only two bounds. He catches the Android's punch, twists the thing's arm, and slams it into the ground.

"_Don't _touch my friends." He hisses at the android.

"Analysis complete." He has only a second to berate himself for being seen when he feels himself telekinetically lifted from Amazo's back, then punched into the ground with his own strength. Now _he's_ pinned by M'gann's powers, and a metallic foot is set on his windpipe. It presses down.

He's saved from a crushed windpipe by a wall of water that washes over them, pushing the android back. Kaldur had reached them.

"_Miss Martian, how iss Nightwing?"_

"_He's fine, the hit just knocked him unconscious_!"

"_Superboy, Flash, delay Amazo with me! Artemis, cover us from the remaining MONQI's! Miss Martian, wake Nightwing up, and make sure he's not concussed. It's going to take all of us for this to work_!"

The four heroes immediately follow their leader's orders, easily sinking back into the roles of their childhood.

XxXxX

Dick's return to consciousness is the rough, blurry awakening he has learned to associate with M'gann forcing him back to consciousness. The advantage of this method is that he's able to get right back into the battle. The disadvantage of it is that his memories of the last few moments before he was knocked out swirl fuzzily around his mind before settling in a confusing jumble of thought. It takes him a minute to put said thoughts in order enough to remember what is happening.

_"Wally?"_

_"Yeah, Bro?"_

It's true, then. Dick has nothing to say but, "_You really are alive."_

_"That's what Shayera tells me every time I play dead on monitor duty."_

How _dare _he be so flippant about this._ "Oh, I would be more than happy to rectify that situation, you complete _jerk."

"_Sheesh. For a bunch of people working so hard to save me, you all sure seem to like threatening my life. I'm feeling the love, really." _

The world around Dick has finally stopped spinning, so M'gann helps him to his feet. She puts lets him put his arm over her shoulders to steady him, but her attention has returned to the battle; based on what Dick can feel of her focus, he guesses Amazo's battering against her mental shields. _"What can I say? We're a group of people that run around in tights breaking the laws of nature to fight bad guys in theme costumes. Logic doesn't exactly factor in here."_

_"I guess I can see that. I mean; you are the guy who wanted to run around in scaly panties for his first costume…"_

_"It was a leotard! And you said you'd never tell anyone if I showed you my first costume designs!"_

After a fourth blocked punch sends him staggering, Conner's patience for his friends' teasing wears thin. _"As much as I missed your… delightful … banter, maybe we should deal with the robot that's trying to kill you first?"_

They're back at it immediately. _"Wow, Conner. That was like, incredibly scathing, in an understated sort of way. When did you get so snarky?"_

_"You would not _believe _some of the things that have happened while you weren't around."_

_"Try me." _The rest of the team can't help but mentally roll their eyes. Wally has _no _idea…

_"B found out he had a kid with Talia al Ghul."_

_"… I am willing to concede a point to Nightwing."_

_"Will you two focus?" _Artemis snaps, just like old times, as she takes down another MONQI that came into range of her throwing knives.

"_Yes ma'am." _Wally mentally snaps to attention.

Dick immediately follows suit. "_Sorry, ma'am."_

_"Although we know you secretly think our epic bromance is adorable." _Wally can't help but add.

Artemis mentally groans.

At that moment, Amazo raises a vortex of water, throwing back his attackers.

_"I was hoping he wouldn't figure out how to do that." _Kaldur admits as he sits up form where he was thrown.

_"The good news is, he let up on his mental attack to do that so I've gotten the link secure again," _M'gann says to them._ "Good job annoying him enough to back off guys." _

_"Is that what we were doing?" _

Dick mentally shrugs at Wally's query. _"Just go with it." _

_"I think I've gotten the last of the MONQI's." _Artemis adds as she takes down the last two with a spinning slice from her sword._ "At least, nothing's flying at me any more, so…"_

_"All we have to do is finish off the big guy then. Got anything for that? Artemis? Nightwing?" _Conner hopefully questions his teammates.

_"I've got an inhibitor collar programmed to knock out all of your powers, among other things." _Dick says casually.

_"…Why?"_

_"Bat Paranoia," _Wally answers as Dick says_, "In case anyone from the Team or League goes rogue again."_

_"Either way, it's convenient for us. How do we get it on him?" _

_"With the magic of friendship?" _Wally suggests.

_"Oh my God, they have that here too?" _

_"Don't knock it till you've tried it, 'Missy." _

_"You guys are just jealous because we're twenty percent cooler than you." _Wally adds to Dick's comment.

_"Regardless of preferences in entertainment, Wally does have a point." _As always, Kaldur brings them back in._ "Our strength has always been in our teamwork. After the first couple of months, at least." _

_"Kaldur just made a joke! Today is truly a day of miracles!" _

With Wally's last quip, the six plan quickly. They've worked together long enough that it's amazingly easy to fall back into the swing of things, now that they have a clear objective.

"_Yeah… that should work."_

XxXxX

Nightwing is the current focus of Amazo's wrath.

He scrambles back from the android, dropping explosives as he goes. He's counting on his teammates to be – ah, right on time. Wally swings around, sliding into the robot's legs as Conner tackles it from behind. It pitches forward into Dick's mine trap, suffering concussive backlash as Conner pins him.

Wally can't resist a quip. "_Looks like we got here just in time. Makes us, like, big damn heroes."_

"_A Firefly reference? Seriously? You dork_!"

"_Look who recognized it_."

"_Banter later. The enemy is not yet neutralized," _Kaldur interrupts them as he raises a water shield around Amazo and Conner. M'gann telekinetically reinforces it, preventing the android from simply countering Kaldur with his own, stolen abilities.

_"Right, we're a go." _Wally smirks as Dick returns to his professional voice. Bracing himself, he grabs his friend's arm and leg and begins spinning.

Inside the water barrier, Conner continues his assault on Amazo. The android has the advantage of speed, but Conner's spent years training under Black Canary. They're evenly matched. Conner taunts, "Looks like we're at an impasse here. Can't fulfill your objective when you're trapped."

"You forget I have copied other abilities." Amazo replies, taking off and hovering above the water barrier.

Artemis is ready when the android rises above Kaldur and M'gann's wall. She fires her last three arrows at Amazo; all flash-bangs. The android is clearly unimpressed.

"Was that supposed to harm me?"

"Nope. Distract you." She says. The android starts to turn as he processes this statement, but it's too late. Wally had gotten up to speed with his rotation, and has summarily launched Dick at he robot with the centripetal force of his movements. The aerialist has no trouble twisting mid-air and slinging an inhibitor collar around the android's neck. He laughs, cackling in mirth at the android's expression as they both fall.

M'gann catches him in her arms, joining his laughter as Amazo crashes into the earth. Kaldur envelops the android in a water bubble, then shoots electricity into it. The robot thrashes as its circuitry fries. Finally, he lets the spell go.

"_Now _you may banter."

XxXxX

"In case anyone wasn't sure, I still hate monkeys." Conner says, purposefully stomping on some MONQI remains as he walks over to where Wally is. He accepts Conner's outstretched hand to stand up and suddenly finds himself in a headlock. "_Don't_ do that to us again."

"Jeez! Is everyone going to be on my case? I promise, Artemis already covered this topic."

"Perhaps if you did not worry us so, there would be no need for chastisement." Their leader approaches the two wrestling heroes.

"Kaldur, you are such a hypocrite." Aqualad simply smirks in reply, green-gray eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth. Suddenly, Wally can't resist. He ducks Conner's stranglehold, zips up to his friend, and pulls him into a tight hug. "Missed you guys." He murmurs, eyes shut.

"And we you, my friend."

Suddenly, Kaldur stiffens, and Wally finds himself being shoved down as his friend turns them around, putting his own body between Wally and whatever had been behind him. Wally's eyes pop open and he watches in slow motion as a blast that must have been meant for him tears through his friend instead. Kaldur's eyes go wide, his face a mask of shock and pain. Then Wally's world goes red.

XxXxX

**AN: **And still I'm a terrible person. Spoilers on the very last line for next chapter. *Runs away with the speed of a flash*

Also, I had this plunny someone should write (and let me know if you do!).

So, as per several theories, Wally actually got sent forward into the future after The-Episode-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named. When he pops out though, it's nothing like what he expected. Without him, the League went rogue a la 'A Better World.' They're thrilled to have him back, of course, even if they have to keep him on lock down and in an inhibitor collar until he 'understands how things have to be now.' I kinda feel like it should be the senior members of the Team who are in charge, rather than the League as we know it, but eh, details.

I just really have this strong image of Wally being sort of a 'kept man' to the earth's emperors and empresses as he tries to remind them of the way things used to be (and hey, if they convince him their way is better, that works too). I can just totally see him trying to hang with the 'common people' and them being like _this _is Artemis' consort/Nightwing's best friend etc. Anyone ever read those stories about Darth Vader finding Padme alive and or finding Luke younger and them bringing him back to the good side? Sorta like that. And spoilers for net chapter now: no one we like dies. Pinky Promise.


	16. Operation

Unlucky 13: Operation

**AN: **Just assume any medical stuff in here is made up. I did look up a lot of this stuff, but I have no idea how medicine really works, or if some of this stuff is more or less lethal than I make it out to be. Just put it down to Atlantean physiology and superhero science, okay?

XxXxX

Wally is covered in Kaldur's blood.

Wally is covered in Kaldur's blood because he messed up.

Wally is covered in Kaldur's blood because he messed up, because he was _too slow, _because he might as well be a thirteen-year-old screw-up on his first mission with another sidekick for all the training he's showing right now.

"_Kaldur!_" Four minds and voices call, and Wally realizes that he's thinking too fast, because Kaldur hasn't even hit the ground…

Wally dives forward to catch his friend before that can happen. Artemis lets loose an arrow before the rest of them can even think, ripping through the MONQI that had played dead and taken the cheap shot that felled their leader. Nightwing is at his side, putting pressure on the wound even as he lays his friend down.

"Damn. Penetrated the Kidneys. Nicked his renal artery." Nightwing diagnoses.

"That's a major artery! He'll bleed out!" Conner adds as he and M'gann hurry over. Artemis has her back to them, surveying the landscape for other still-active bots, ready to send her warning through the mind-link.

Conner's words are what Wally needs to kick his brain back into gear. "Right. Flash to Watchtower! I need an emergency teleport and medical aid, stat!"

"_I'm sorry, Flash! We're in the process of bringing up the other teams! We're mid-transfer, and can't stop now!_ _It's gonna be at least a few more minutes!" _Kaldur lets out a groan, face pale and eyes unfocused with pain. M'gann puts her hand on his brow, trying to focus and help him block out the pain.

"He doesn't have that long!" Conner insists, overhearing Wally's comm.

"Are you kidding me?!" Wally yells at Conner, then turns back to his comm. "Just get us up there ASAP, and have medical standing by!" He angrily kills the line.

"This artery has to be closed." Nightwing murmurs urgently, wrist deep in Kaldur's wound trying to pinch the artery shut. "Flash can't get him anywhere fast with that leg. We're just going to have to do it ourselves."

"…I still have some Shields," Conner admits. "I can cauterize the wound with heat vision, but it'll be risky. He'd have to be absolutely still." They all watch Kaldur's body jerk in shock and pain.

"Right. Miss M can you-" Nightwing starts.

"I'm attempting to pull him into my mind now. I need someone to anchor me…"

"I've got you, Megs." Artemis is back from surveying the remaining bots. She stands behind M'gann and puts her hands on the kneeling girl's shoulders. "Just like old times." The situation is too dire for them to share even a weak smile at the bad quip. The three go still, M'gann's eyes aglow.

Wally has a thought. "Wait a second." He dashes back to the nearest café, raiding their kitchen for a few supplies and swinging by a nearby bakery on his way back to the Park, all in just a few seconds. "We better get some disinfectant in there. A staff infection in his Kidneys is just as likely to kill him as bleeding out." He dumps salt from the shaker on the café table into an unopened water bottle and adds some vinegar he found in the back room. A few milliseconds of super-speed shaking later, and he pours some of his homemade antiseptic into the wound.

"Good thinking, KF." Nightwing says absentmindedly as he watches Conner put a Shield on his arm. The Kryptonian shudders as he reigns in the drug-induced rage that comes with the suppression of his human DNA. "Ready Superboy? You're going to have to do this as soon as I move my hands…" With one last breath, the clone nods.

And then everything moves quickly. Dick moves his hands, and Conner's eyes glow red. Those beams are hot enough to melt steel; it only takes half a moment burn soft flash to itself. Conner slams his eyes shut and tears the Shield from his arm. He stumbles back, and Wally rushes forward again. He dabs a little of the honey he grabbed form the bakery onto the wound (_natural antiseptic properties, alleviates swelling, promotes healing, _he mentally recites) and then backs off to let Nightwing wrap it with a compress. That's all they can do for the moment.

Three of them are useless. Two of them are unconscious. One of them is dying.

Wally wants to scream in frustration (_How dare you take my family from me! I just got them back!), _but he doesn't know who to blame. Conner seems to have compromised and screams out wordless anger. Even Dick's 'traught' mask is slipping under the emotional strain they've faced today.

They're saved by a voice in Wally's head.

"_Flash, this is Watchtower. Zeta platforms are clear. Prepare for emergency teleportation. We have medics standing by."_

"Do it!"

And suddenly they're in the Watchtower. His friends are stepping back, letting the medical personnel get to their injured teammates.

"Not me, him!" Wally insists when one of the medics tries to check him out. He absently notices dozens of worse-for-wear heroes loitering in the bay, watching the drama play out. Honestly, you think they'd be used to him showing up with bloodstained strangers by this point. It's becoming a regular occurrence.

By the time he finally convinces the medic that _Yes, I'm fine, _and _No, this isn't my blood, _and _He'stheonedyinghelphimnowdammit! _he notices that Dick is embracing Artemis, holding her tight as she comes back to awareness, dragging M'gann with her. Conner catches the telepath as she struggles to come back to herself. Kaldur groans as he is allowed to return awareness to his body, but one of the many things the medics have shot into his arms should have started numbing the pain by now.

Wally doesn't realize that he's been following the stretcher – that they had even left the main bay at all – until a nurse bars them from following the procession into the operating room.

"But he needs us!" M'gann insists, looking like she's willing to fight her way in. "Can't you feel it?"

"It's okay Megs." Conner wraps his arms around her from behind. "We're here for him. We're not going anywhere. Just tell us what we need to do."

"No! We all just got back together! We can't leave him now." She murmurs, looking heartbroken. "We have to go in there with him; I don't know what he'll do if he's left in his mind alone." They don't need to be told twice. Conner turns and sits against the wall of the operating room, pulling M'gann down with him. Wally takes this as an invitation to lay down and put his head in her lap; she forces a smile and lets him even as she leans back against Conner's chest. Artemis takes the hint and sits down next to her earth-sister. She takes the girl's hand in her own, and throws her legs over her boyfriend's torso with a wry grin. Dick actually chuckles at that, lifting Wally's legs to slide under them and lean against Artemis.

Wally's suddenly reminded of their teenage years, when they were still trying to get along as a team. How they could all pile onto a couch for a movie and just enjoy each other's company. The feeling would be familiar, comforting, if it weren't for the obvious absence of their leader. That gaping hole is a reminder of what's at stake here.

They close their eyes, and M'gann pulls them in.

XxXxX

"Where are we?"

The world M'gann has pulled them into is like nothing Wally has ever seen. It looks like it's been patched together by an imaginative 5-year old. Colorful cloth is draped across the sky, its brightness dripping into huge singing flowers that could be seen scattered across the landscape. There seems to be no real organization; gothic skyscrapers stand next to giant trees stand next to the Eiffel Tower. Some areas are dark, some bright. In some areas it's raining, others snowing. Mount Justice can be seen in the distance; standing as proudly as the day they first moved in, all those years ago. Two Watchtowers orbit circus-tent sky.

To Wally, it's something like being in a dream; nothing makes any sort of sense, and yet it all feels right.

"This is our shared mindscape."

Dick wanders over to one of the buildings that are near them and an oven door appears in the side of the wall. He pulls it open, and the smell of burnt cookies wafts out. "We are some strange people."

"First off, I thought we'd established that. Secondly, this place is totally cool!" Wally examines a table that sits in the middle of the street in front of them. Chemicals are laid out in various beakers around a sheaf of scattered papers with mad scribbling and doodles of lightning bolts on them.

"To be fair, it's very unusual to bring six separate minds together like this, and it's never been done with non-Martians. Our minds are a little confused as to how to integrate, but they're figuring it out. It's kind of the way your mind makes a conscious story out of a dream even though there's no real story line when you're actually asleep,"

"Why didn't this happen when you and I were fixing Kaldur's mind?" Artemis asks as she marvels at the world around her. "That time, we were in Atlantis; neither of our minds seemed to have an influence on the landscape."

"That's because we were trying to fix Kaldur's mind. Right now, he needs to feel us, so I sort of... pulled us in a different way. I really wasn't sure it could be done."

"That still doesn't explain why there isn't more... water."

M'gann shrugs. "Sometimes, people's mindscapes change."

Conner has joined Dick in poking at the oven. This time when they open it, unburnt cookies pour out and they're force to jump back from the hot, gooey goodness. Conner stares at the desserts for a moment, before turning back to the rest of his team. "So what do we do now?"

"We have to find Kaldur's mental representation of himself."

"Okay... So search patterns, or...?"

M'gann shakes her head. "No. He'll be closest to the 'center' of his own mindscape. You can see how our minds are integrated, but each still have significant features – the Watchtowers, the Eiffel Tower, the Wayne Enterprises building…We can probably narrow down where that is if we figure out what stuff belongs to our own mindscapes."

"Oh, I get it, Megs. Like, this science stuff is probably me, the random kitchen stuff everywhere is probably you…"

Conner coughs into his hand, a habit he must have picked up from someone because Kryptonians don't get sick. "Actually, uh, I think the kitchen stuff is mine." They all give him questioning looks. "A lot of my best memories are in kitchens, okay? At the cave, at Ma and Pa's house, at the manor... The moon up there with the Watchtowers is probably mine too."

"That makes sense." M'gann agrees. "I think those trees over there are mine- they look like some that grow on mars. The animals under them are sort of like the ibexes from Marie's animal reserve too."

"Well the big top and the Gotham architecture are both definitely mine." Dick says confidently.

"Well, that Watchtower is from this universe. It's where we - me and the other founders, I mean - became close. So it and all this stuff from when I made recreated the Flash experiment must be me."

"I guess the Eiffel tower's me then? And maybe Mount Justice? That's where I first met my family after all..."

"Aw, Arty. You going all sentimental on us?"

"Can it, Boy Wonder, or I'm going to make sure you are not feeling the aster." Artemis shakes a threatening fist at Dick.

"Ah! Wally! Save me from your scary girlfriend." He darts behind his best friend's back, only for Wally to jump out of the way.

"Dude! I am not touching that fight with a ten-foot, chromium-coated pole!"

"Well I think it's sweet." M'gann moves to hug her earth-sister. "I feel the same way."

"Mt. Justice could be any of us, really." Conner murmurs quietly. No one speaks, but there's an air of silent agreement between the five.

"All right then. That's where we'll head first."

XxXxX

They make their way steadily towards the mountain in the distance. Wally's thrilled to realize all of their powers still work.

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Haven't you ever watched movies where people have to go into dream worlds? Their powers never work there!"

"If you say so."

Wally runs, of course, carrying Artemis with him as they dodge between the trees and buildings. Dick swings and M'gann flies above them. Conner leaps, as he always has, but he's learned enough control that Wally isn't tripped up by sudden earth shakes when he lands. They're almost to the mountain, and have thus far encountered no real resistance. Wally doesn't like it.

"I feel like this is too easy. Shouldn't we, like, have to fight off Kaldur's seven evil exes or something?"

"You think Kaldur has seven exes?" Conner asks as he lands

M'gann adds, "And that he'd ever date someone that's evil?"

"You're right." Wally concedes. "He'd just pretend to go evil himself."

Dick chuckles from above, "Touché."

"Guys, can we just agree not to jinx it?" Artemis grumbles in Wally's arms. He kisses her cheek in a show of support. The archer been unhappy since they ran by a Wonderland garden earlier; Artemis' recognition of the red-painted flowers prompted her mind to shift her outfit to an Alice-esque dress. On top of that, the Queen of Hearts, wearing a hockey mask, started to order her execution before the tyrant was attacked by an ephemeral Cheshire Cat. Artemis refused to let anyone comment on the incident or its implications, instead trying to focus on imagining her costume back on.

"She's right, guys. Although I don't think we're going to have to worry about physical threats. This is a time of emotional upheaval for all of us, and our minds are going to be reflecting that. For better or for worse," M'gann explains as they approach the mountain's base.

The 'secret' entrance opens smoothly, allowing them to walk inside, just like old times. On their way up to the main section of the cave, they pass the Bioship, the Batmobile, the Supercycle, and a red van with lightning bolts on its side that Wally insists they hurry past with no explanation. When they finally step into their old living room – the site of so many movies, board games, and pillow fights back in the day – they stop, silent.

M'gann moves first, drawn to the kitchen; unquestionably her domain in this mountain, no matter the changes to the team roster. She can't help but examine the spread of holiday dishes on display. "No matter what was going on, everyone _always _made it for at least part of Thanksgiving dinner every year. I loved that. Everyone was here together, and every year we tried new dishes because there were always new team members with new cultures to include."

"Definitely the best day of the year, in my book." Wally agrees. "Not to mention the best food I've ever had, Megalicious. Uh, no offense Babe." Artemis rolls her eyes at her Boyfriend's placations; she'll be the first to admit M'gann rules in the gastronomic arena.

"I used to spend hours in here, mesmerized by static on the T.V." Conner says fondly. "It was one of the first things that helped me focus my super-senses. Plus then I was in the way of everything, and you guys always had to tease me when you came through. I was always really happy to have you guys acknowledge me."

Wally zips off to the side, into their training room. "Remember when Dick hacked the training equipment to act like a video game? Giving us points for combos and stuff? Black Canary was so impressed she didn't even make us change it back."

They laugh, and Dick gestures to the ceiling. "Remember how we used to come up with elaborate plots to distract Red Tornado so we could sneak into his rooms? We always left sticky notes on his stuff with memes."

"I loved doing that!" Wally agrees exuberantly. "He was always so confused! Especially that time we left him all those Mother's day cards."

Artemis joins in the fun now. "I remember that! It was like, six months after we got him back from the Reds! We forced him to sit down and humor us with breakfast in bed, and with not having to do chores or respond to the League comm all day!"

"Batman was so ticked when he found out why we dropped off the radar all day!"

"Yeah, but Kaldur stayed cool as a cucumber and convinced him to let us all off without punishment." The team sobers at the reminder of their wounded comrade. They had been so overjoyed to return to their shared home that they had forgotten why they were here in the first place.

"I'll look downstairs." Wally immediately offers, and zips down to check out the largest, most confusing level of the cave.

"I'll get the personal rooms."

"I'll check out the training rooms."

They quickly peel of in different directions, determined to search every nook and cranny of the cave for their injured friend. They instinctively return to the main room as their searches turn up empty.

"Nothing downstairs, and _nothing _in the grotto."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asks as Wally comes back upstairs.

"I mean there aren't any memorials down there. Just, like, rocks and stuff."

"That jives with what I found in Kaldur's room." Nightwing tosses something onto the counter as he strides in. It's a photo of the team, but not one that they ever took in real life. In it are 32 smiling faces; everyone who had ever been a part of the team, together, happy and alive, as they never had been in real life. Kaldur is in the center of it, the five of them circled around him.

"This isn't good, is it?"

M'gann bites her lip worriedly. "No, it's not."

"Where else is there to look?" Conner puts his hand on M'gann's in a show of comfort.

"The Watchtower."

"Think the Zeta's will get us there? Or is that one of the things that won't work in our minds?" Artemis pokes at the computer that controls the Zeta platforms.

"It should, as long as the mindscape connects it to the right Watchtower." M'gann confirms.

"That's easy," Wally says, "there's tech over there that matches this world's teleportation platforms. I'd bet good food that they connect to my Watchtower, and that the zeta tubes connect to ours."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's do this." Nightwing squares his shoulders, and steps into the transporter.

Nobody hesitates to follow suit.

XxXxX

They find Kaldur in the main atrium, sitting on a stone bench in the center of the hero's memorial. He is focused on the hologram in front of him and doesn't react as the team approaches.

As they get closer, Wally notices his costume has shifted; he's dressed as Kid Flash again. A glance at Artemis shows that the dress is finally gone too; she's back in her old costume from their time on the team. Artemis' memorial hologram stands proudly next to his own. M'gann, Dick and Conner step back respectfully as they step up onto their respective plates, pulled by some invisible instinct that this is what they're supposed to do.

Immediately, the memorial flickers. Artemis and Wally's hologram's shut off, leaving only their selves on display. Two of the other monuments do the same, leaving solid-looking versions of themselves in place of the holograms.

Kaldur doesn't move.

Artemis looks back at the team, then at Wally. They all shrug, so she decides to take the initiative. She steps off of the platform, and walks over to Kaldur. When Wally follows suit, the other monuments flicker off; even their platforms disappear. Only Tula's remains.

While the others maintain their distance for the moment, Artemis plops down next to their leader and rests her head on his shoulder. Finally, Kaldur moves, slipping his arm around her back.

"Everyone was so happy when we got to deactivate your memorial," He starts. "I mean, you were never truly deceased, but so few people knew that... It was still like you came back to life for them. "If only we had not had to add Wally so soon after..."

"Yeah," She agrees hoarsely, choked up by the memory of that loss…

"It was like losing Jason all over again. Another brother, dead at the hands of a villain that should have long since been taken down."

Artemis reaches for his hand and squeezes it. It hurts, thinking about Wally, about Jason. Wally's death was like having her heart gouged out, but few seem to realize how much Jason's death hurt her too.

She had always loved the street-smart, back-talking little twerp. She and Jason had often ganged up against Dick and Wally, turning their prank battles into wars of attrition. When he fell at the Joker's hands, she had lost a brother as much as Dick had. Luckily, M'gann was there for her, even as Wally was there for Dick and Clark was there for Bruce. They pulled through okay, if a little more scarred then before. Artemis wonders if anyone ever helped Kaldur through it; she knows he's always blamed himself for the team's failures.

"Then Booster Gold shows up with Blue Beetle, babbling about explosions and time travel and coming back a few years later than they meant to... Well. Jaime finally got the mentors he was hoping for, but with Blue's hologram gone, the memorial became a testament to my failures. Three dead young heroes, all on my watch. My fault."

"But Jason came back." She reminds him urgently. "Oracle had to call us back when B figured out who Red Hood was. Remember? She had me and Dick sit on them while you mediated their argument. Got them to stop being complete morons." Kaldur makes a humming noise at Artemis's attempt to cheer him up.

"...Yes," Kaldur finally allows, but he doesn't even try to match her weak smile. In fact, he doesn't even look at her, he's so focused on the hologram in front of him. "Then it was just Wally and Tula left, and sometimes... sometimes it felt like it was just us crying for our dead lovers, like two people who couldn't move on."

She frowns at the accusation, ready to counter it, but he cuts her off. "Please don't misunderstand. I hate myself for that feeling. You were, of course, justified in mourning Wally. You two were actually together, and you kept having to watch alternate versions of him die, not letting yourself heal, and he turned out to be alive, so it's a good thing that you're still so in love with him."

Artemis doesn't miss the implications of that statement. She sits up and cups his cheek with her free hand, forcing him to look at her instead of at Tula's memorial. His eyes are dull and watery. "Kaldur, it's okay to miss her. She was your first friend, your first love! When she died, you lost all of that, as well as your best friend."

"Roy is my best friend." Kaldur corrects her automatically.

"Well Roy was a bit busy being a complete ass and looking for other Roy to support you through it. Garth, at least, should have understood, should have been there for you."

"Garth loved her! He's supposed to grieve for her."

"But you're not?" Kaldur remains silent.

"... I don't deserve to. I'm a terrible, selfish person."

"Kaldur! How can you say that? You're the kindest, most giving person I know! Including M'gann!"

Kaldur turns from her, and says, in a scathing, cool tone, "If I am such a good person, then why, when I look at these deactivated memorials, do I feel such jealousy inside myself?"

She's stunned at the admission. She doesn't know how to reply to that. He swallows, turning back to her.

"Please," he begs with his eyes and body language, "let me explain. I am so, so thankful the others have returned. Our family is whole again." He gestures to where the others still stand a respectful distance away, watching the drama unfold. "I couldn't be happier that Wally's alive, that we have him back... I just... I wish Tula... That she could come back like everyone else." Tears start to roll down his cheeks, and Artemis pulls him into a tight hug. "It's not fair." With that last whispered admission, the floodgates open. He is sobbing in earnest now. Wally zips up to them and sits down on their other side, rubbing circles on the Atlantean's back. The others follow suit. M'gann drops to her knees in front of Kaldur, grasping the hand Artemis isn't holding and leaning against his leg. Conner and Dick stand behind him, hands a comforting presence on his shoulders.

For the first time in years, they are all together, and slowly, that starts to sink in. It takes more than a few murmured, _it's okay_'s and _we're here for you_'s for Kaldur's tears slow, but eventually they're able to enjoy the moment, the fact that they're alive _together._

"You know, for the best person in this mindscape, you sure are being hard on yourself." The others nod in agreement at Conner's declaration. "I mean, you're the one that taught me I could be more than a weapon."

"And that trusted me, and made me a spot in this family." Artemis follows his lead.

M'gann adds, "And who worked out earth culture with me."

"And who got Kid Mouth to chew with his mouth closed." Dick smirks at Wally's mock glare.

"And who got our little Robin to admit that he's neither perfect nor as cool as he thinks he is."

"Hey!" Dick protests in 'outrage.'

"Stop it, you two. Your bickering is detrimental to the team's success." Kaldur chides them, but he's smiling. Their antics are familiar, and loving, and more than enough to cheer him up.

M'gann pops up from the ground and pulls them all into a hug. "I love you guys."

"Us too, M'gann. Us too." Kaldur replies.

XxXxX

A while later, they're pulled from their bonding by an earth quake.

"M'gann, what's happening?" Kaldur remains calm even as it the watchtower begins flickering in an out of existence around them."

"Your surgery must be over! They're trying to wake you up!"

"Surgery?"

"You don't remember?"

"You took a laser blast to the gut for Wally."

"Yeah, about that, can I call a vote that we stop pulling these self-sacrificial stunts for each other? It's really stressful for everyone else." The others ignore Wally's half-joke.

"They've been operating on you this whole time."

"I am... glad I wasn't aware of this. So what do we do?"

"I'm letting you go. Just follow my lead. We'll see you on the other side, okay?"

The world continues fading around them as M'gann steps away from the circle, and closes her eyes. The others do the same. When she opens them again, she's leaning against the wall of a very different watchtower. Wonder Woman is kneeling in front of them, shaking Wally awake.

"Hmmfeldible," Wally moans as he open his eyes like the rest of them.

"I'm sorry to wake you guys, but the surgeons just finished with your friend. They say he's going to be fine."

The five younger heroes share a glance amongst themselves.

"Yeah, we know."

XxXxX

**AN: **Aren't you guys so grateful for that relaxing chapter in Central now that I've spent a few chapters whacking you upside the feels?


	17. Concentration

Ch 14: Concentration

**AN: **Sorry for the poor quality and late posting of this chapter, but this was my week:

Monday Afternoon:

My Boss' Boss: Hey, MY boss' boss is coming in on Wednesday, and isn't using all of his time in the division meeting. Can you do your final presentation then instead of three weeks from now?

Me: Of Course!

Me (Internally): *Rage face* Ffffffuuuuuuuu-.

Wednesday Night:

Me: It's late and I'm so tired and this chapter MAKES NO SENSE, and what am I going to do?!

Late Thursday:

Me: Screw it. There's no way I can hold onto this for another night. Here you go, Flopsy.

Anyways, cheers for my beta. I only go this to her last night, and it's already back. Hopefully y'all at least get a tease of the emotions here, and I can expand on it in the future.

XxXxX

Everything is going just fine until Wally calls for help.

The data Artemis collected from the Legion is spot on, as are Batman's predictions of the villain's behavior. Although a few members hadn't been tracked down over the last week, all of the heavy hitters had been accounted for. Most were still taking refuge in the 'more secure' Legion lair, but a few had had required some tracking of either the magical or mechanical variety.

Shayera is fallowing a trail of the former. She's been assigned to work with Zatanna to take down a couple of the biggest threats; Grodd and his right-hand woman, Tala. Luckily, the two were exactly where they're supposed to be; hiding out in one of Grodd's secondary fortresses. With Artemis' info, it is no trouble at all to draw the two to an unfortified location and begin their attack in earnest.

Tala's magic is ineffective against Hawkgirl's mace; she's able to block the hurled spells and smash straight through the sorceress' shields. With her out of the way, there's nothing to protect Grodd from Zatanna's magical entrapment. It's the easiest take down Shayera's ever been a part of. She's almost offended that _these _villains who have caused so many of their headaches in recent years.

It's about the time that she starts thinking about letting one of them up for a second round that Wally's call comes through. It's also when things start to go wrong. _"This is Flash, to the Justice League! We're under attack in Paris! Requesting immediate back up!"_

Shayera glances at the villains at her feet, bound and unconscious."We're done here, Flash, and I'm itching for a real fight. Zatanna and I will be there as soon as the teleporter techs clear us."

_"Great. We're around the Eiffel Tower, but come in low, we're fighting-"_

_"Hold that thought a second." _John's voice crackles over the Founder's channel. "_Anyone else seeing giant vortexes suddenly appear in the sky?"_

Batman cuts in to answer him. "_Reports are coming in from every team; there're hoards of small robots monkeys descending upon every team dispatched by the League today." _Shayera doesn't see what they mean until she's almost blasted in the back by three of the things.

"Yrf eht stobor!" The circuitry within her attackers fizzles, courtesy of Zatanna's spell. This gives her enough time to ready her mace for the next wave. She nods a quick thanks to her partner, and turns as much attention she can back to her comm line.

_"Flash, can you stall for a few minutes?" _Superman is saying._ "We have to take these things out; they're targeting innocent bystanders."_

The response wouldn't sound hesitant to anyone that didn't know Wally as well as she does._ "You know I'm pretty quick… I'll come up with something until you guys can get here. Protect the civilians." _

It's the expected response, but something about that pause sets her on edge. Wally's the type of person that will tell you to drop him from ten thousand feet so you can protect yourself, all the while hoping he'll come up with something before he hits the ground. When has he ever hesitated to demand that they help others first?

Shayera turns back to her own battle in time to shield her partner from another of the monkey-robots, but a part of her concentration is still listening to her brother's fight. Wally seems to have forgotten his comm is even on, and she can't bear to close the one link she has to him right now.

It's because of this that she's able to hear Wally's conversation with Artemis as they regroup.

_"What happened?"_

_"Some of the MONQI's got me when I was dodging Amazo." _Shayera nearly fumbles her next attack.

Wally's fighting Amazo. It took the whole League to bring him down last time; this time he has only Artemis as back up. Is this the power of the Anomaly? It's keeping the entire Justice League busy, yet it still has the power to send their most powerful foe after the Flash. For the first time, Shayera understands what Artemis and her teammates have been up against, and how it's possible for them to have failed so many times… But Artemis is speaking again, so Shayera focuses.

_"How bad is it?" _ Shayera waits for his quip.

_'Just a scratch, Babe'._

_'Nothing to worry about except Monkey Fever.'_

_'I'm hurt bad, beautiful. Maybe you should kiss it better.'_

The reply never comes. Instead, she just hears Artemis breathe, _"Oh." _It sounds more like an _'Oh no.'_

Wally explains in a strained voice that the League is under attack too, and Shayera tries to focus on her own battle in the silence that follows. The swing of her mace and beat of her wings begins to fall into a rhythm as she tries desperately to end this fight, to get out of here and save Wally…

She realizes how long its been since either has spoken. She's never heard Wally stay quiet this long; any moment now he's going to have a stupid plan, or a joke, or he's just going to jump back into the fray with no sense of caution. Or maybe things are different with Artemis being there; Shayera knows she's feisty, a fighter. She'll make some desperate plan to hold it off until help arrives. He'll make something work, like he always does.

The hoped-for levity never comes. Instead, when Wally speaks again, he simply says, "_We're on our own._ _There's no one left to call."_

Her heart breaks at the despair in her little brother's voice.

XxXxX

Batman doesn't let the line drop after Wally's request is denied and the speedster tries to end the call. He knows he needs to concentrate on the battle before him, but he rationalize that half of his attention would be speculating on the state of the Parisian battle regardless. There's no harm to keep Wally on the founder's comm channel. At least this way, he knows what is happening (he knows that Wally isn't dead yet), and knowledge is always an advantage. Still, he starts to lose the sounds of the distant battle to the struggles of his own, so he's startled when Wally begins to speak again.

_"Holy cow! Where did you come from?" _Wally's panicking; and Bruce grows concerned. Certainly there isn't _another _threat entering the battle?

_"Relax, Flash. I'm Nightwing…"_

Nightwing. His son. (Not his, _his._)

In Paris, with their Wally. (Not their, _their._)

_"Fight now! Talk later!"_

They're losing. (_They _are losing.)

Because even if he and Clark defeat these robots, and save all the civilians. Even if Amazo is brought down, and the Anomaly is stopped. Even if Wally _survives, _they have lost him.

Because _they're _here.

Wally won't choose them over _them. _(Bruce wouldn't choose here either. _There _he has a family. There _Wally_ has a family.)

It wasn't supposed to be like this. (Nothing is supposed to be like this.)

But he should have known. Things never go this well for him. (Though they seem to go really well for _him._)

So Batman resolves himself, and throws everything he has into this fight. (Because he will never win _that _fight).

Maybe they can end this quickly, and save their speedster (_their _speedster) and his son _(his _son) and he can learn to be happy knowing they're out there _somewhere, _alive and happy.

_He _certainly will be.

XxXxX

"_Artemis!" _

Clark flinches as Wally's desperate, distorted cry emanates from Bruce's comm. He's long since lost his own comm in the fray, relying instead on super-hearing and Bruce's ever-sturdy cowl for news on their endangered speedster.

_"Didn't see… that one coming… punk." _Wally's voice is strained, his breathing heavy.

An unknown voice speaks up._ "Get another compress on that wound. We're going to need him again."_

Even straining his hearing, Clark catches no more discussion from the Paris end of the line. Wally has stopped talking all together. It's the scariest thing Clark has never heard. As the minutes tick by, Superman's concern for his friend grows, as does his anger at the 'Anomaly.' Innocents are being attacked. His friends are in danger. Wally might be _dying. _The pressure builds behind his eyes as he surveys the flock of robots attacking them. This needs to end. Now.

"Batman." His voice is low, nearly a growl. "Duck." The Caped Crusader has never been one to follow orders; he must sense the threat in Kal's voice, because he rolls out of the way without hesitation. The moment the man is clear, Clark lets heat pour from his eyes.

Their enemies burn.

XxXxX

John is in one of the first groups to return to the Watchtower, and considers himself to have been very patient in the precious minutes it takes for the rest of the League to fall back. Someone has initiated a consecutive mass-teleportation in the wake of the battle, and the Leaguers coming through the teleporters are increasingly on edge; everyone knows this is one of Batman's contingency plans for a widespread attack of unknown origins, to be used only in emergencies.

John is simply annoyed. This isn't an unknown attacker as far as he's concerned. It doesn't take the Bat's detective skills to figure that out. He knows that the Anomaly is trying to kill Wally, and that it's been successful in every universe so far. He knows it has the power to cross dimensions, and practically warp reality as they know it. That an army from another dimension appeared at almost the exact moment the Hot Shot asked for help can't be a coincidence. The League was being delayed, leaving Wally as vulnerable as he'll ever be.

He's seen this tactic employed dozens of times during his career as a Marine, then as a superhero; even employed it himself a few times. It's common wisdom to take the easiest route possible; no need to bother eliminating the opponent when all you need to beat him is time. These armies weren't sent here as a threat to the League, nor as a promise of another invasion. They weren't even just a warning. Not really.

No, hundreds of lives were threatened, millions of dollars in damages were incurred, and the entire Justice League was kept busy for almost an hour as a mere _distraction._

John also knows what it means that the distraction is over; that Wally might be…

He returns his focus to the materializing heroes, mentally counting how many groups are left. Finally, _finally _the last group is materializing, and he's able to get back on the platform to get down to Paris. Wally _needs _them, now, and nobody's going to tell him otherwise.

"Clear the platform!" One of the technicians has the gall to try and shoo John out of the way. "We have another group that needs to come up, and the medics will need clear access!"

John resists the urge to strangle the man. He's been following the reports since his group returned to the Watchtower. Each group succeeded in their initial objectives despite the robot army's sudden appearance, and no one was seriously injured. Wally needs reinforcements more than anyone needs medical aid. _Why doesn't he understand that?_

"Whoever it is can afford to wait a few extra seconds, you have to send us down as reinforcements for Flash!"

An odd expression flashes across the technician's face, and John feels his stomach drop.

"Who do you think the emergency transport is for?"

XxXxX

J'onn has to count them twice when they materialize on the platform.

Wally. Artemis. M'gann. Two dark-haired boys. Their dark-skinned friend.

That's six people.

_He only feels four minds._

There's the rushing vortex of Wally's mind and the hard edges of Artemis'. Further prodding reveals two strangers; a steel wall, and a shadowy haze. There is no hint of the sorcery-veined mindscape he associates with Atlanteans or the complex infrastructure of a Martian's mental self-representation. Where are the other two?

_Where is his niece?_

He watches the medical personnel approach the group from a distance rather than pressing forward like many of the other leaguers. For him, the details of the blood-spattered group are inconsequential; he already knows that two of the slumped figures won't respond to physical prodding. He's still trying to feel for them mentally, because even protected minds have a presence. The only time a being has no mental presence at all is when they are... No. The universe would not be so cruel. Wally's friends (_his niece)_ must survive.

Suddenly, the largest boy (that's the El crest, it must be Superboy, then) is scooping M'gann up in his arms. J'onn is simultaneously concerned and relieved as two more mental presences make themselves known. His niece is unharmed; their comrade is less lucky. He's a little embarrassed too; M'gann was performing common, if not simple, medical aid. He should have recognized the technique. It's been so long since he's seen anyone join minds so closely, though... Underneath it all, he can't help but feel a little pride at her power, her talent.

He mentally follows their progress as the group moves towards the Med Bay. His niece is distraught. They all are, really, and who can blame them? Still, it is his niece's mind that he reaches for. When she feels the press of his thoughts, she yields without hesitation. If anything, she is welcoming, grateful of his presence; he will not let that trust down.

Through her mind, he can see the horror of the past hour, particularly the agony and despair in her elder brother's mind. His determination redoubles; they will not let this boy die. He vows to help as he can.

He sifts her mind and sees that he is in luck; she was raised on the same tales as he. It only takes a slight tug on her memory of _The Tale of Four Wanderers_ for her to understand his meaning.

_'That's never been done before. Not with non-Martians.'  
_  
_'I have faith in you. More importantly, they have faith in you.'_ He resolves an image of Wally's confident grin as emphasis. '_You won't let them down.'_

There's a tentative brush into his own mind – it's been so long since he's been around other telepaths that he hadn't yet realized that the whole conversation had been within her mind – and her gratitude sweeps in, along with the hesitance of a reluctant question.

_'Not now, we will speak at a later time. Return your awareness to your friends. They need you.' _He pulls her injured friend's heartache and guilt from the air.

_'You all can make this fight easier for him. I will do my best to filter interference for you.'_

There's one last brush of gratefulness into his lonely mind. _'Thank you, Uncle J'onn.'_

Then she's gone.

XxXxX

Diana heads to the Med Bay as soon as she is able. The medical report indicates Wally has a serious wound in his leg, but she knows he won't have it seen to, not while his friend is still in surgery. As one of the more responsible founders, she takes it upon herself to make sure their speedster takes care of his _own_ health for once.

She stops short when she turns down the medical corridor for the second time in as many weeks.

The young heroes from before – the heroes who had rescued their speedster in the League's absence – are piled atop one another, woven together seemingly with no thought spared towards personal boundaries. Diana can't help but think that they look like children despite the blood and sweat and tears that mar their bodies, evidencing their recent struggles.

She smiles, thinking of how Wally might stamp his foot and pout at that insinuation. Still, in this one unguarded moment she can't help but admire how at peace they are. They exude an air of innocence, not the cynical paranoia of the seasoned heroes they are. She's not sure if the world is cruel or kind for gifting Wally such friends, then forcing them to suffer the tragedy of a dozen lifetimes.

A weight on her arm startles her from her examination of the group, and forces her to take note of her surroundings. She is not as alone as she first thought. J'onn is here, sitting across the hall from the group. He's facing the younger heroes, legs folded and eyes closed as if meditating. Shayera is pacing at the other end of the corridor, occasionally shooing nosy leaguers away with not small amount of irritation. John is attempting to change the bandage on Flash's leg without jostling the younger heroes too much.

"Won't that wake him?" She asks quietly of Clark, whose hand had originally jolted her from her reverie.

"No. J'onn says they won't wake… not until their friend has awakened from his surgery. It's some Martian therapy thing." Clark shrugs, eyes serious. "He's trying to filter out mental interference, apparently, so I'm not sure if he can hear us, but before he went under her said the best thing we could do is be here for him… them."

"The one they're operating on is Atlantean, and he needs several pints of blood for a transfusion." John adds from where he's kneeling. "I think Batman went to bully Aquaman into getting what he needs."

She can't help a small smile at the thought. Bruce will never, ever admit it, but he does care for them, even if the ways he shows it are unorthodox. If only he weren't so stubbornly guarding his heart he might realize how much they each return that affection.

After a few moments wistful contemplation, she joins John in checking the unknown heroes for injuries, leaving Clark to guard this side of the corridor. It takes a few hours, but Bruce eventually returns with the needed blood, as well as food for the founders, who have refused to leave their silent vigil over the younger heroes.

It is both an instant and an eternity later when a surgeon steps from the operating room and informs them that the procedure was a success; the boy will live, and is being awoken now to check for other trauma. Diana hasn't left the children's side in all that time. She reaches out to cup Wally's face as the younger heroes begin to stir.

"Hmmfeldible?" Diana smiles as Wally slowly returns to consciousness.

"I'm sorry to wake you guys, but the surgeons just finished with your friend. They say he's going to be fine."

She sees so much in the glance the five share, and yet knows that she's seeing only a little of what's actually there.

"Yeah, we know."

XxXxX

Dang it, Bruce. Quit being so pessimistic. You're depressing me. Thank goodness a certain birdy is around now to force you to be cheerful.

If anyone is wondering, this was the line up for the main six + partners:

Batman: Bizzaro and various

Superman: Giganta and various

(They're the only two founders involved in the fight at Legion HQ)  
Green Lantern and Black Canary: Heatwave, Volcana and Killer Frost

Hawk Girl and Zatanna: Tala and Grodd

Martian Manhunter and Dr. Light: Star Sapphire and Sinestro

Wonder Woman and Super Girl: Metallo, Blockbuster and Queen Bee (Who may or may not have taken control of the other two…)


	18. Interlude: Mary West

Interlude: Mary West

**AN: **I am so sorry, guys. It's been a busy week, and Thursday night I was almost done with the chapter when I realized that I really didn't want to do the next scene that way, and that I needed to start totally over. So yeah, I'm buying myself another week with an interlude. Sorry again. Hope this makes you need tissues.

XxXxX

"No, no, no, no, _no!"_

Glass scratches her fingers as she tries to put the picture frame back together. That just makes it worse as blood begins to stain the photo, as tears make the watercolors of the hand-panted _Best Mommy Ever _frame-heading run. This flusters her more, because _Wally _gave this to her, his precious art project that he made just for her, and now it's broken and the glass has torn one of the too-few pictures she has of her and her baby boy together.

She finally just gives up, leaning back against the wall and scrubbing at her face, as if this will make the tears stop. She knows all too well that it will not.

"Mary?" No, Rudy can't be home yet, he can't see her like this; they've been doing so _well, _but now she broke his picture frame and _it won't go back together. _

"Oh, Sweetheart." He's suddenly sliding down to sit beside her, pulling her into his arms, rubbing circles on her back. "It'll be okay."

"It's _not okay!" _ The words have more bite behind them than she means. Bless her husband, her other half, for never holding that against her during these… _episodes._

"I know." He doesn't expand upon his dull words. Instead, he simply continues holding her and rubbing her back.

Rudy has never been overly emotional. He's her quiet man, her rock, her anchor from the worries of this world. Even so, she knows that the chain that keeps them moored is taught, ready to snap under the sustained pressure it has been subjected to ever since they lost their Little Light. She can see it in her husband's eyes, the way they glaze over ads for graduations and weddings and baby clothes. She hears it in his voice when he can't _quite _congratulate their friends for their children's accomplishments. She feels it, in the dead of night, when the silent sobs that sometimes still wrack his body wake her, and all she can do is hold him close. That's why she tries not to do this. He's trying so hard to be there for her that he can't be strong for himself.

"He'd be glad you did it, and not him, so he wouldn't have to be lectured about slowing down in the house." She wants to laugh as she remembers the way Wally would gloat over _not _being the klutz for once. It comes out more like a choking cough. Still, that's progress, and she'll take it, for Rudy's sake.

She doesn't mention how easily the past tense came off of her husband's tongue. That's something they never talk about. She wonders if he feels guilty, the way she does, when she doesn't trip up. When she doesn't start to speak in the present tense, or set a third place at the table, or marvel at her grocery bill.

When she sees Kid Flash on the news and doesn't think for even a second that it's not Bart.

Eventually, she's able to speak. It's on a different subject, like always.

"The Twins' birthday is coming up," she manages to get out. "Iris sent over the invitation today. You can get off work early?"

"With this much notice? Of course."

Their niece and nephew are spoiled rotten, in no small part thanks to their own efforts. Mary reasons that it's only fair for them to play the doting grandparents. The twins might be the closest they'll ever have to grandchildren, after all, if Artemis doesn't begin to move on soon. Besides, they have to make up for Wally not being there to get them into his own kind of trouble.

"It will be nice to see everyone. I think Barry's even trying to get in contact with Artemis."

"She'll be staying with us?"

"I assume so, unless something drastic has changed since the last time she came home."

"I better get a move on fixing the fan in her room, then. She'll never get to sleep with the clanking it's been making lately."

Calling Wally's old room _her _room is the only change that has felt natural. She's their daughter, even if it will never be official, and she spends most of the nights she's in this dimension here with them. Mary loves it when she does; it makes their home feel a little less broken. Seeing the pain on the girl's face when faced with her son's old things even gave her the strength to move most of them into storage so that the room would be less of a reminder of their loss. She and Rudy weren't quite strong enough to do it themselves, but Barry and Hal didn't seem to mind. She keeps the key to the storage unit on a clip in her purse, where she could take it and go down to see Wally's things at any time she wants. It's a perfectly legitimate thing to do, she tells herself. It's not a crutch.

It's easier to tell herself these things when she has superheroes to compare herself to.

She doesn't mean to pry, but she knows Artemis stopped paying for her and Wally's flat after his death. As far as Mary can tell, Artemis went back to the place one final time to grab their dog and Wally's favorite jersey, and never looked back. It's only through a hacked bank re-routing and Dick's stubborn refusal to let the place be sold that the flat has remained untouched. No one says anything about it though, because Wally and Dick were best friends. He has the money to rent the flat indefinitely. Who are they to tell him that he has to let go?

Out of all of them, though, Bart is probably the worst. Everyone knows Wally died for the world, but that it was specifically for him. She thinks that's why Bart comes to visit them so often. He does little chores for them, brings up corny jokes, steals their junk food… It breaks her heart, how hard he's trying to make it up to them. She does her best to welcome him with cookies, invitations to stay over, cut out articles of Kid Flash's latest heroics – whatever it takes for the boy to understand that they don't blame him, and that he shouldn't blame himself. She thinks this only makes him feel guiltier, and that maybe it's the reason he's been spending more and more time at her son's old flat instead of with them. She wants to tell him, '_Come back! We don't blame you! He died for you so that we could love you too!' _but she can't ever make the words come.

"Come on, Lovey. We'll bandage up your hands, and then we can go start looking at gifts for out little dust devils, right?"

"…Yeah. That's... a good idea. Thank you." Her voice gains conviction as celebratory thoughts make the lost picture frame seem just a little less devastating. "You should see the guest list she emailed me. It's going to be one hell of a party."

"Is that so? I can't wait to see who all shows up."

He holds out his hand to help her stand up, and for a while the pain stops and she can focus on buying gifts and being excited about the toddlers' birthday.


	19. Hesitation

Ch 15: Hesitation

**AN: **Dang it guys! Quit picking up on foreshadowing that seemed really subtle when I decided to throw those lines in in the middle of the night.

But really, yay! Finally done with the hard stuff after this…

XxXxX

"M'fine, John!" Wally makes the obligatory effort to shoo John away from checking his leg wound again, though he really doesn't mind his friend's mother-henning. He's too happy to find much of anything annoying right now.

The League took down most of the Legion of Doom, despite the unexpected interruption. Only a few relatively low-level villains escaped in the chaos, and no civilians were killed. Plus, he and the team just performed the greatest take-down ever (in his most humble opinion) during their own battle in Paris. Those victories alone would be cause for celebration in Wally's book. The silencing of the small voice in the back of his head – the suppressed fears and agony of a young man who suffered under those monsters hands for a fortnight – was simply a bonus.

The real cause for his joy though, is the arrival of the Team. His family is _here – _well, most of them anyways – and they've missed him and they're all going to be okay. Yeah, Kaldur got injured (stupid, self-sacrificing je- no, Kaldur's too nice to be called a jerk even jokingly in his own mind), but he's going to be fine. _Everyone's_ going to be fine.

So Wally can just sit back and enjoy having them here. Once John stops poking at the wound on his leg (and Shayera gives him a piece of her mind, if her irritated stance is anything to go by), he'll have to introduce everyone of course. He knows they're going to love each other as much as he loves them. Clark will probably make Conner play ball with him and J'onn'll have M'gann to be all mind-meldy with and Bruce will… well. He'll probably be his grumpy self for a while, but if anyone can make Bats smile, it's Dick.

Everything's just… perfect.

"If you would hold still, Hotshot, we could be done with this already." John chastises him.

"Bribe him with this. It's ridiculously effective."

Wally suddenly notices the snack Dick is offering to GL. "Chicken Whizzies! Gimme!"

They're yanked back out of his reach. "Not until you let Lantern check your leg. Your super-healing does weird things sometimes." Wally grumbles, but accedes.

"How did you know that would work?"

"A better question," Artemis cuts in, "is where was he keeping them?"

"A Bat never reveals its secrets." How the Nightwing mask is flexible enough to let Dick wiggle his eyebrows at them, Wally may never know.

"Everyone good now? Great. Get out of the way." Shayera pushes John and Dick away from Wally so she can crouch right in front of where he's sprawled on the floor. She grabs his shoulders and shakes them. "Don't you dare pull a stunt like that again!Do you know how worried I was about you? I'm pinned down fighting these stupid robot monkeys – who the hell thinks Monkey _anything _a good idea by the way-"

"Here here!" Conner throws in.

"-and all of a sudden I hear you're fighting _Amazo_-"

"You could hear that? I deliberately turned my comm off so you guys wouldn't be distracted by my fight!"

"-and then you're _hurt _and then you _stop talking! _I have never heard you not talk before! It was unnatural! So just… just don't do it again." Wally returns her hug as her anger runs out, finally allowing her worry and relief to bleed through.

"I'm so sorry, Sis. I'm okay though. It's okay," he soothes her. "No seriously. Getting dressed down is killing my happy-buzz." She chuckles against him, but doesn't let go for another moment. "Thanks, Shay. I'm feeling the love."

Kaldur nudges sleepily at the back of his mind. "_It is polite to introduce people who are meeting for the first time."_

"Ah! Right, I forgot." He turns shifts out of Shayera's hug to address more of the Leaguers. "Guys, this was my team growing up." He points his thumb back over his shoulder to where they're still leaning against the wall to Kaldur's room. "You all know Artemis already. Kaldur, aka Aqualad, is the too-kind-for-his-own-good idiot that's in the OR. That's Conner, aka Superboy; and Dick, aka Nightwing." He leans towards Shayera and cups his hand at the side of his mouth, like he's telling a secret. "It's okay if you forget their names."

Conner sighs and mutters, "Every single time," but Wally ignores him.

"Finally, may I introduce you to the ever-lovely M'gann M'orzz, aka Miss Martian, aka the finest Martian babe this side of the Milky Way." Wally gestures dramatically to M'gann, as if presenting her as a Victorian Ball. "By the way, I'm the only one allowed to hit on her like that, because I was grandfathered in before she left bachelorette-hood behind, so back off if you know what's good for you. Especially you, Boy Scout Senior." He points two fingers at his own eyes, then at Clark's. Poor Clark is so flustered that he backs right up into a wall.

"Wally! Be nice!" The subject of his flattery demands. Shayera is more than willing to swat the back of his head in her place.

"Yes Ma'am." He salutes them. "You guys are mostly familiar with my fellow Leaguers here, of course. This feisty lady here is my big sister Shayera Hol, A.K.A. Hawkgirl. Am I the only one that thinks it's weird that she's _Shiera _and Hawk_woman _in our universe? Like, that's a weird thing to change between universes? It would be interesting to look into what caused _that _change when the rest of our names are the same. I wonder if-"

"Wally, we got it," Artemis cuts him off.

"Very smooth with the rambling, Kid Mouth."

"Shut it, Boy Blunder. I will sic GL on you. You'd back me up, right John?"

"I am _not _getting involved with this." John pointedly denies, despite Wally's pout.

"Fine. See if I back you up next time Shayera and/or Mari tear you a new one."

"That is completely-!"

"So I call this flustered guy here GL, because it's a good way to differentiate him from Uncle John, and you guys of course know Supes, J'onn, Bats and Diana."

"It is never not going to be strange hearing you call Auntie Di by her first name." Dick grumbles. The Leaguers raise their eyebrows at that statement, but nobody asks, and Dick doesn't bother expanding upon that little fact.

Once it's clear Wally's done M'gann is the first one to speak up. "It's so nice to meet you guys," she says, moving to hug the League founders, beginning with a very surprised Shayera and ending with a very welcoming J'onn. Only Batman keeps her at arms length. "I love making new friends!"

J'onn inclines his head towards the younger heroes. "It is an honor to meet you all as well. Wally has spoken of you often in the past few days."

"It's totally whelming to be here." Dick agrees with a cheery wave. He moves to shake John's hand, spurring the others to make polite motions of conciliation. Wally grins like an idiot all the while.

_"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can someone ask if there's anything of immediate importance to be discussed? The surgeons are going to put me back under since I am responding well to their anesthetics. I'm not sure I can contribute much longer."_

Artemis relays Kaldur's message, much to the League's surprise.

J'onn in particular is astounded. "You all remain linked enough for him to be that… present?"

Batman cuts in before anyone can answer him.

"The Anomaly. It was able to delay the entire League _and _send an Amazo from another dimension after the Flash. I was given no previous indication that it was that powerful." Clark and Diana try to step in.

"C'mon Bruce, is this really the time?"

"Bruce! They've just been through an ordeal. Leave them be!"

Batman isn't willing to back down though. "No. This… thing nearly killed Flash. It could come after him again at any time, and in case you haven't realized, there may be nothing we can do to stop it. I need as much information as I can get. Now."

Dick sighs; the rest of the Team is more than willing to let Nightwing face off against the Big Bad Bat-face Bruce is making. "We didn't know it was that powerful either. Usually if we show up and start winning, it's more than willing to back down. This time it's like… it's like it was playing with us, like it's not on any kind of schedule, just trying to stir up as much trouble as possible. That it stopped you all from helping – even having that MONQI go through the effort of playing dead – it doesn't match its usual M.O."

"Maybe it realized I'm from another dimension and it's mad that it didn't get me the first time. Like – I'm the one that got away!" Wally posits.

John scoffs and Clark rolls his eyes good-humoredly, but the Team seems to take this suggestion in all seriousness, much to the John's chagrin. _How often do we dismiss him out of hand with not reason other than simple habit? _He can't help but ask himself.

"I suppose it's possible. It's not like we know what its motivations are, anyways, or if it even has enough of a conscience to _have _motivation." Dick is silent for a moment; Wally can feel his teammates pondering the possibility in the back of the mindlink. "Deviations from the pattern aside, what we can take out of this is that we can't count on getting the help we need. This time, we're going to have to fight smarter, not harder." Here, Dick hesitates, and turns directly to Batman. "I'll give you everything we have, but this really isn't the place to go over it."

"…Very well. You can debrief in the 'Cave." His cape sweeps out a dark arc as he turns and begins walking away from the group. Even Dick is surprised but the man's abruptness.

"Uh, wait, now?"

"Is that a problem?"

_"Go do you Bat thing. Use Blue's clues to find Carmen Sandiego, save the world, all that jazz." _Wally encourages at his best friend's hesitance to leave his side.

_"Seriously, Boy Wonder. Go. We'll sit on Wally 'till you get back." _Artemis adds. Wordless affirmation from Conner and M'gann warms the link. Kaldur, too, seems to agree, but his side of their mental comm is growing fuzzy on narcotic pain meds. He's gone entirely only a few moments later.

"Uh, no." The acrobat suddenly recovers at a mental suggestion from M'gann. "Actually, I'm totally looking forward to having a sleepover with you!" The Dark Knight's face twitches at the younger Bat's newfound enthusiasm. He's not used to losing control of the situation like that, and he's just beginning to realize how guarded he will have to be around this boy.

For his own defense, Batman resumes stalking off. A new, bouncy shadow follows after him. Wally stifles a laugh at the look on Diana's face when Dick's parting comment echoes down the hall to them. "If we tell him we're going to have to pull an all-nighter, do you think Agent A will make us cookies and hot chocolate?"

"…Did that really just happen?" Clark asks as he struggles to shake the dumfounded look off his face.

"Yeah, we don't get how he does it either." Conner offers the older Kryptonian.

Clark suddenly looks nervous; He scuffs his boots and rubs the back of his neck. "I guess if Batman gets to take his counterpart's partner home, maybe I could do the same? Ma and Pa'd be more than happy to have you, and I know Kara's dying to me you…"

"Kara?"

"Your smoking hot cousin." Wally offers, helpfully. "Not in my opinion, of course. Just sayin' what I've heard." He adds at Clark's glare and Artemis' mental projection of her irritation.

"I... I would like to me them. I just... Megs?" Conner turns to his girlfriend, hesitant to abandon her just to meet his parent's counterparts.

"Don't worry about me, Conner. If worse come to worse, Artemis and I can just kick Wally out of his quarters and have a girls' night."

"Wait, what?"

"Of course, I won't leave my girl hanging!" Artemis assures Conner over Wally's protests. M'gann grins at the prospect of some much-needed girl time, and hugs her sister for going along with it.

"It doesn't have to come to that." They turn to J'onn in surprise when he finally speaks up. "I, uh… It was probably mentally taxing to perform both a _Sheleara Oo'mse _and a six-way _Shabtl-cur_** in one night. If you require meditation, my quarters have an annex for such things; the room is well-shielded from mental intrusions." Wally does a mental victory dance. Three for three and he didn't even have to do anything.

"I would love to meditate with you, Uncl- I mean, J'onn." M'gann smiles and projects some of her appreciation of the offer. "Uncle J'onn – my J'onn, that is – always chastises me for not properly clearing my mind after such exertions."

"Excellent. Everyone's taken care of, then." John crosses his arms. "Are we done here? Mari's going to be furious we took this long." Shayera scoffs her derision, but John ignores her. It's been a trying day – days? John isn't sure what the count is, anymore – and John isn't ready to deal with all of this. He doesn't have some alternate-dimension protégé to focus on, so he's taking the first escape route he sees.

"Yeah. I guess we're all good here." Wally moves to hug the four aliens before they go. "I didn't realize how tired I was until you said something." He takes Artemis' stifled yawn as agreement.

"See everyone in the morning then?" He gives one final round of hugs to Shayera and Diana at their assent, before whisking Artemis off to his room. Who knew life-and-death battles, long-lost reunions, and mental side-quests were so exhausting? The others keep up a mental dialogue for a few more moments as they head their separate ways.

"_E.T. phone home tomorrow? Or are you gonna chicken out on us again, Kid Smooth? 'Cause there's no other excuse not to call everyone up now that these miscreants know." _Artemis teases him.

_"What? I can't just pop home and say 'Hi! I'm not dead!' to them in person_?"

_"Well, theoretically you could, if one of us lent you our remote." _M'gann chimes in, oblivious to his joking ton_e. _He's completely caught off guard by that response.

_"What?!" _Because that are two completely shocking, left field bit of information. "_What do you mean?"_

They hesitate, but finally Conner speaks up_. "It's... not that hard to jump that 'far' if you have a remote and both a sending and receiving platform. Or even just a remote, if you're only jumping one or two dimensions over. Regardless, Artemis should have that stuff set up in her bunker."_

_"I could… go home? Like, anytime? Is there a reason no one mentioned that before?"_

The inquiry is mostly aimed at Artemis, and she's the one that offers an explanation_. "I didn't want to say anything because it's… not really on the table. __We try not to go home much, in case it the narrowing of the space-time gap between our dimensions allows the Anomaly to follow us. We don't need it to go after Bart again."_

_"What does that mean?" _He could go home, see his family… but he can't. Because this, this _thing _that's trying to end him might go after his baby cousin instead.

_"…The Anomaly's not as omnipotent as it seems. When we first started out Bart volunteered to be a part of this mission. I mean, it's not like we could tell him 'no.' It was a disaster. The Anomaly seemingly couldn't distinguish between the two Kid Flashes and went after both with a vengeance. If Oracle hadn't been able to set up an emergency override on his TD mark and get him out of there... We would have lost him. As it were, The Anomaly took that Wally down and was... I guess cruel is the best word to use, in the next few dimensions."_

At the reminder of the Anomaly's track record, Batman's words come rushing back to him. _There may be nothing we can do to stop it. _He'd been so focused, in that one moment of home, on seeing his family again that he let himself get a little bit selfish.

A near-omnipotent adversary has been travelling the universe just to kill _him. _His team has failed dozens of times before, and the Anomaly has only gotten meaner since. It's even willing to go after other speedsters, just in case. Would it go after Bart if he tried to go home? Or maybe Barry, since he's the Flash instead of Kid Flash now? Wally's already tried to die to protect them once. How could he put them in danger like that, just because he wanted to see them? Following that logic… a lump forms in Wally's throat.

_"Guys. We… we can't tell anyone I'm alive. Not yet." _Shock and confusion echoes through the mind link, but they allow him to explain. _"I can't… do that to them. I'm just… If we fail, if the Anomaly gets me… It wouldn't be fair, to call them up and tell them I'm alive only for me to die without even getting to see them." _He can see his family, in their minds. Bart's guilt, his parent's sorrow… he shouldn't be alive to know how much he hurt his family. To do it twice…

_"Wow, Wally, I'm really feeling the confidence you place in us." _Conner's trying to be accusatory, but the joke falls flat. Each and every one of them is carrying the guilt of more the one failure. The stakes are so much higher this time, though, and it's hard to make jokes when they know the consequences of failing again.

_"Wally…" _M'gann tries to think of something comforting to say. There is nothing. Artemis halts their progress to pull him into a hug.

_"We understand. We… we'll keep it a secret."_

_"We're going to win this time, though. Promise."_

XxXxX

Later that night, Wally lays curled around Artemis, still awake. He just can't stop thinking about that _what if… _because the more he thinks about it, the more likely it seems that they really might lose this time. If he pays the price for that failure…

He wants everyone to know how much he loves them. The Team, the League, his parents, his aunt and uncle, Bart… They deserve to know how much they mean to him. He won't leave them like he did last time, silently ducking out of the Watchtower without a word. They deserve that much, at least.

Perhaps more than that, though, he doesn't want to be the reason they go rogue. He knows them all well, if there were some way for him to soothe their rage from beyond the grave…

He doesn't get out of bed immediately when the idea comes to him. He lies there, listening to Artemis breathe and feeling her warmth in his arms as he thinks. He thinks about who he absolutely has to say something to, and whom he can leave with only a few lines, or even nothing at all. He thinks about how they might feel, what he needs to say. He thinks about how to apologize to them all.

Only once he has it all planned out in his head can he bear to extricate himself from Artemis' arms. With his speed, it only takes him a few minutes to write his letters, pull on some real clothes, and be out the door. An instant later he's standing in front of Question's door, silently praying Huntress isn't here tonight and that he's not at her place instead.

Luckily, the man in question answers the door on the third knock, looking only slightly sleep-rumpled and irritated.

"Flash. To what do I owe this surprise?"

"Vic. I need you to do something really important for me. How determined are you to stop the Lords from happening?"

"You know the answer to that."

"I just wanted to make sure. If things… go wrong for me, can you get these to the people on the front of the envelope? If you don't know who someone is, give it to Artemis. She'll get it to the right person. I just… I think this may help them cool down enough not to go Lord or anything, y'know?"

"This is oddly well thought out for you, Flash. What is the League at large not being told?"

"It's not important."

The faceless man is silent for a moment. "Very well. I'm sure I will stumble upon the information myself, since you've given me such a good hint at the right questions. I will ensure your friends get these."

"Thanks, Q. You're a good friend." The detective inclines his head at the compliment.

"Sleep well."

"I think I will, now."

XxXxX

**I totally made these Matian words up.


	20. Information

Ch 16: Information

**AN: **Just saw the Flashpoint Paradox. It was awesome. Until I realized (didn't read Flashpoint, so I didn't know this until now) that it's Barry's fault Wally doesn't exist anymore. He killed his own nephew and said nephew's kids, and _he doesn't even remember it. _*Cries*

Anyways, KALDUR WAS IN IT, AND HE WAS AWESOME! And seriously, could they have used any more models straight form Young Justice? Kaldur, Garth, Tula, that Reporter that is totally a pallet-swapped Cat Grant…. Yeah. Moving on….

XxXxX

The ride to the Batcave is silent.

Not for lack of trying on Dick's part, of course. It's just that he hasn't met a Batman this reticent since Bruce had laryngitis back in his first year at the Manor. So it is that the seventeen minutes between being teleported to the Batmobile's location and actually pulling into the cave are some of the most awkward in the young acrobat's life.

It makes him sad.

He noticed it, a little, when he and Bruce had come here to help Artemis when she was first getting settled. The empty cave, the heightened paranoia, the solemnity in this other-Batman's eyes... it was clear that Bruce was the sole member of this world's Bat Clan. His assumption that this Bruce was at least still close to the League was summarily shattered by the man's actions this evening.

Oh, _they_ cared for _him, _that much was obvious. It was the lack of reciprocation that baffled Dick. His Bruce has always had a (grudging) soft spot for most of the League, particularly for Dick's Uncle Clark. Several members he outright respected, among them Black Canary and Wonder Woman. This Bruce, however, didn't seem to have any compunction about blowing the lot of them off.

Wally will come first – he has to – but that doesn't mean Dick's not filing these thoughts into the back of his brain for when the Anomaly is taken care of. Whatever it is that has Batman so afraid of dropping his emotional walls – because Dick's sure he's reading it right; this man loves them even if he won't show it – Nightwing's confidant that he can overcome it.

Bruce pulls smoothly into one of the 'Cave's alcoves as their journey finishes. Dick opts not to comment on the fact that the security system recognized him as an ally rather than an intruder, or even a guest. The younger hero is promptly led to the Batcave's mainframe, and the Dark Knight gestures for him to do his thing. They're falling into what Dick's always called 'Detective Mode' now. Dick allows it. In this context, at least, Batman's recalcitrance is more understandable.

Nightwing takes Batman's place at the terminal, connecting his glove directly into the powerful computer. He flicks open his wrist computer, and with a few twitches of his fingers he's able to activate a rough holographic representation of the multiverse; a grid of small blue orbs. Another flick highlights a series of the orbs in red. The orb on one end is green; on other end it's gold. Seeing how many Earths are now labeled in red reminds Dick of the seriousness of the situation and gives him the strength to resist the urge to add a 'You are Here' tag to the gold-tinted earth.

"This is the best way we've come up with to approximate the multiverse in three-dimensional space. Each sphere represents an earth in a different dimension. The Team dedicated a lot of man-hours to investigating the hundreds of the dimensions 'closest' to ours." It was a tedious serious of stake-outs, but no one dared complain. Even those that had never known Wally knew how much this meant to the senior members of the Team.

"We came up with an algorithm to sort the dimensions based on where we believe the time stream deviated and how each dimension compares to its neighbors at the present point in time. This allowed us to create a grid of their relationships to one another. The green orb is where we believe the Anomaly first began its rampage. It's the site of the earliest chronological death of a Wally that we can't reasonably explain, at least."

And they tried _so hard _to explain it. Wally was just a kid in that universe. He wasn't a Flash – there _wasn't _a Flash in that dimension, just a Barry Allen – but a cameraman for his Aunt. He should have been safe. What are the odds that he'd just _happen _to stumble upon CitizenCold's secret villainy? That the 'hero' would just _happen_ to catch him in his discover? Timmy, bless him, spent weeks recreating the events surround that Wally's murder, and concluded that _something _had to be pulling the strings; there were too many random variables for it to have coincided so nicely otherwise.

"That was about four years before Wally ceased in our universe."

Batman's equivalent of a shocked gasp is a slight tightening of his fist. The leather creaks loudly in the otherwise quiet cave as the elder Bat realizes how big this really is, how far the odds are stacked against them...

Dick swallows away the dryness in his throat and continues. "Chronologically, the Anomaly's path looks like this." A line connects the highlighted orbs, with dates attached. Most are short, connecting two adjacent earths. Towards the middle, though, the lines stretch, connecting earths that are further and further apart, even going straight through other earths. One line in particular jumbles the orderliness of it, jumping across several earths, only to immediately jump back to an earth that was adjacent to the previous one. The line continues through several more earths before re-intersecting the problem orb to reach the earth behind it. The twice-intersected earth is highlighted in purple.

"At first the Anomaly seems to meander. It takes its time in each universe, doesn't attack very aggressively, and seems willing to go after Wally whether he's active or retired, young or old. Around here," he gestures to an earth that's relatively close to the purple one, "it begins to move steadily closer to _our_ dimension." He indicates the purple orb this time. "Notice how it spends significantly less time in each universe, even leaving Wally alive in some of them in its hurry, hence the lines that seem to go through some of these earths."

"It had a goal, a set endgame it was aiming for."

"That's what we think."

"And this crisscrossed line?"

"Remember, this isn't a perfect representation. We've been working under the assumption that it's a fault of our model that the algorithm breaks down near our own universe. Dr. Palmer thinks it's likely due to selective sampling." Dick thinks the algorithm is wrong, but who is he to argue with the mathematical genius? His Mathlete days are long behind him. "Either way, we haven't been able to improve upon it, and it seems accurate enough at a 'distance' from our home world that we just deal with it."

"What happens if you remove your own world from the timeline?"

Dick's fingers fly and his home world is removed from the sequence. Instantly, the line snaps into a semblance of a pattern. That area of the map is still subject to the occasional 'skipped' earth, but the crossed lines and doubling-back across several dimensions are gone. The implications of this are not ones Dick wants to deal with, so he tries to make a joke. The effort is weak.

"My scientific sensibilities are offended, Bats! I didn't know you were one to just toss out data that doesn't fit. I mean, it's an outlier, but it's still an Anomaly attack, and it might provide us with important clues into its M.O."

"Is it an Anomaly attack, though?"

"Of course it is! What _else _could set up conditions so perfectly to kill Wally?" He refuses to believe differently.

They had gotten rid of the Reach and the Light, and even most of Black Beetle's doomsday devices. They had won. Yet one device just _happened _to have been missed by Blue's initial scan? And it just _happened _to be in a stage where only speedsters could stop it? It also just _happened _to have an energy field that's too much for the faster speedsters and just _happened _to spew enough energy to disintegrate Wally? It _had _to have been the Anomaly. Wally isn't that unlucky. He doesn't _deserve_ to be that unlucky.

"Except that Wally isn't dead."

"I- He's- But it's…" Dick searches for the words, the logic that he's been so secure in this whole time. Nothing comes.

He doesn't want to believe this. It had been so... _convenient, _to pinWally's death on some depraved conspiracy rather than declare him an unfortunate casualty in their seemingly-eternal struggle with the Light's greed. Because if it was the Anomaly's fault, then there was nothing they could do. If it was really a coincidence that Wally's sacrifice was needed… well. There are a thousand _what if's _that can plague his conscious – one for every mistake he can ever remember making – and any of them might have save his best friend.

It's probably not meant to be a kindness, but Dick appreciates it none the less when Bruce continues.

"So if we work under the assumption that the Anomaly isn't responsible for Wally's… relocation," the man presses, "what do we still know?"

Dick takes a deep breath. Anomaly or not, Wally's _alive. _They need to keep him that way.

"We know that the first 'skipped' earth is 18 before our own," the translucent earth in question fades to an even lighter pink. "Assuming that our Wally wasn't the Anomaly's victim, and that it may have skipped our earth only because Wally was already gone, then the last skipped earth is two before our own in this sequence."

"And the Anomaly begins moving at a statistically significant increase in rate four earths before the first skipped earth?" Batman clarifies.

"Yeah, although I need to re-run the numbers without our earth in the picture… huh." Dick glares at the new numbers at the bottom of the projections, his Mathlete's brain whirring at this new information. Batman finally says it out loud.

"Even without the strange jump, the Anomaly moves faster, on average, just before your home world than after it."

"…Yeah." Years of ingrained training have him sorting this information, isolating the facts and patterns they can use from all of this. He mentally ticks off the clues they have, sure that Batman's doing the same.

The Anomaly has _some_ sort of goal, even if they don't understand yet. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such conspicuous patterns of boredom, eagerness, and… vindictiveness, for lack of a better term. This implies that it has a certain consciousness, as well as the ability to plan.

The thing is probably not responsible for Wally's original displacement, but it may have a special interest in destroying him, if the thing's new delay tactics are anything to go by. Wally's theory about being 'the one that got away' is reasonable enough to keep on the table.

The Anomaly is powerful enough to cross dimensions and take on the whole League if it wants, yet it's only using that power to kill off the same person, over and over. This suggests a certain pettiness and short-sidedness that might be able to be exploited. Dick wishes this were a less common trait amongst villains so that they might be able to draw clues from it.

"There were no other patterns between the universes? Besides the ones you used to sort the grid?"

Dick resists the urge to roll his eyes. His own Bruce knows his training, and would never imply that he missed something so obvious. This one doesn't though, so he plays along with the man's overly thorough methods.

"What do you want me to say, Bats? That the average entropy in each universe visited by the Anomaly is greater than those it skipped? Although, now that I've said that, you could make a case for the chaos that always seems to follow Wally's death…" He trails off at the older hero's stare. Okay, seriously. Someone needs to help this man feel the aster.

"What do you know about its physical capabilities?" Bruce has always been good about turning to the next route of inquiry when one runs into a temporary dead end, and at ignoring things he deems inanities. This Batman is obviously no different.

"Not as much as we thought, apparently." Dick dismisses the holographic model moves into the data files on the Anomaly's attacks. "Aside from its movement, there's no clear pattern in methods or circumstances of the attacks, and you have the same data as we do, so you know we were as surprised as you were that it could and_ would_ distract you guys from coming to Wally's aid."

"It's _never _interfered with a rescue before?"

"Well… not on this scale."

"Elaborate."

"I mean, it _is_ trying to kill Wally, after all. Of course it has to separate him from his allies sometimes. We've lost more than one Wally because we got separated from our principal and weren't able to get back to him in time, or were too late to call each other for back up."

He tries not to think his worst failure. Wally has always run ahead. It's annoying, but not fatal… not usually. He should have kept up. He should have called his teammates sooner. _He should have saved Wally. _

"…You've never had trouble jumping dimensions to help each other? As long as the call is actually sent out?"

Dick has to think for a minute. "No. We've always been able to get to Wally _if_ we receive the distress signal. We just usually lose once we're actually there."

"So what's the difference between your team's trans-dimensional technology and the League's teleportation and Zeta networks?"

"Well, one works within a single plane of existence, and one crosses between those planes." He's not _trying _to be cheeky; he knows this is serious. It's just habit.

"The Anomaly is capable of pulling accomplices from adjacent universes; it should have no trouble delaying you from making the same jump. If it knows you're coming."

Dick catches on to the man's meaning. "You think it can't track our TD tech the same way it tracks League teleportation tech."

"Exactly. What are the physical differences between the two?"

"Current League tech in most dimensions is of hybrid Kryptonian-Martian-Thanagarian make. It operates roughly along the same lines as the Zeta technology we use back home. Our TD tech is based on some more advanced New Genesis stuff, but it also has a magical component. Zatanna and Dr. Fate personally wove the spells that let us bridge between dimensions without risking trans-universal collapse."

The thought that they were using magic to try and save Wally always made him feel like smiling. _Note to self, see how far Wally will go to try to explain our tech as pure science. Ensure video cameras have a clear view._

"So it could be the level of technology or a magical component that's throwing off the Anomaly's ability to detect it?"

"Or both." The man is pulling up his own files now – of _course _he's already been through these scenarios – changing and adding to various sections of his notes. Dick takes the opportunity to browse the man's suspect list. It's extensive, ranging from 'Alien Entity' to 'Circe' to 'Mythic Blob' Dick has never even heard of half of the actual villains on the list. The Time Trapper?* Seriously? Who the heck is that?

He begins adding his own notes to Batman's as they try to find their culprit, or, barring that, a strategy to deal with this menace. They're falling into a rhythm, into that easy pattern Dick had always had with Bruce, even at the beginning. It's comforting, in the face of all that's been going on. Because, yeah, they have Wally back, but he's starting to realize that just means they have so much more to lose.

He can't… he can't face that again. None of them can, really.

If they lose Wally now… he worries Artemis will go with him, whether by the Anomaly's hand or her own. M'gann won't cope well with losing Wally and her sister – _again._ Kaldur will withdraw into himself and stew in his own guilt like last time. Roy will probably stop visiting them again. Conner will try to hold everything together, but that's never been his strong suit. Dick is so tired of watching his family crumble around him. The little boy inside of him is crying; he just wants his Dad to tell him everything's going to be all right. He doesn't realize what he's saying until it's too late.

"We're going to save him this time, right Dad?"

He realizes his mistake as the word comes out of his mouth, but it's too late too take it back. Batman freezes, but doesn't turn around. Dick's heart hammers in his chest; pain and embarrassment and exhaustion all twist up inside of him.

Finally, Batman speaks again. "It's late, and we're reaching the end of our resources. I'll have Alfred make up a room for you, if you don't care to return to the Watchtower so late."

The man turns, and stalks off without another word. Dick's stuck trying to decide if he needs to apologize.

XxXxX

*Thank MarkinOrlando for this name-drop. He reviews every chapter, and always has really interesting comic facts to share with me.


	21. Conversations

Ch 17: Conversations

**AN: **I am so, so sorry. I thought I was going to get this done eary, then there I was, Wednesday night/Thursday morning, still finishing this thing. Flopsy and I both went back to school this week, too, so I wasn't able to do much until now. I'll try and post a little Wally-centric drabble I've been working on later this week as an apology.

That brings me to the important thing though; update day is changing. I still have to figure out my schedule, but assume I'm going to start updating on Sundays or Mondays.

Anyways, hope this was worth waiting for.

XxXxX

Tonight, the nightmare that has been his companion for so long has changed.

It starts the same as always; Flash is murdered. It always begins thus, though the method is the one part that has some semblance of variety. Tonight is particularly gruesome; the speedster is eviscerated by a batarang-wielding android as the League watches on in horror. It's only after the boy gasps his last shuddering breath that Clark finds the strength to break the iron grip of monkey robots that restrain them.

The android burns. The robots quickly follow suit. Bruce watches helplessly as his family loses themselves in their grief. Most nights he – barely – avoids following suit. However, is small comfort that Bruce sub-consciously believes he could resist that temptation. He has seen too many of his counterparts fall for him to be confident that he would not stand with the Lords.

Bruce's real fear, though, comes from watching those counterparts that _do _resist.

That is this scenario that haunts his nights. To suddenly find Diana at his feet, the Batarang in her heart the reason for the blood on his hands. John is just to his side, gasping his last breath as he chokes on fear gas. Shayera is slumped on his other side, bleeding out from the sliced arteries in her broken wings. J'onn's ashes crunch under his boots. Clark writhes in front of him, dying a slow, painful death from the Kryptonite Bruce shoved down his throat.

His head recites the numbers and says, _'It's better this way.'_

His heart replies, '_No, it's not.'_

Tonight, this is where things begin to change.

"Daddy?" A little boy in red, green and yellow stumbles upon the scene. Even through the child's mask, it is clear his eyes are wide in shock… and fear. He gasps out, "What did you do?"

Bruce tries to explain himself. "I… I had to. They were going to… and in every universe that they do…"

The boy is still open mouthed, shaking his head. He's denying Bruce the understanding and acceptance he so desperately needs. "But… but they're your _family._"

"I know… I- I was just-" He takes a step forward, reaching out to the boy. The child steps back the same distance, hands raised as if to ward off some great evil.

"No. Please! Stay away! Don't hurt me too!" He's moving away faster, half turned to run from the imposing Dark Knight. Bruce is faster though. He catches the boy by the arm and pulls him into a tight embrace.

"I won't, Robin. I'll protect you. I-" The bundle in his arms shrieks in pain and Bruce pulls back. The boy's skin is red and blistering everywhere he's been touched. As Bruce watches, the burns deepen and the boy begins to dissolve into ash.

The boy's screams ease enough for him to turn to Bruce and ask through his tears, "Why would you do this to me?"

Bruce can't help but scream as his son dissolve before him; even the ash is blown from between his fingers.

A hand lands on his shoulder. "Wow, Bats. You really _do_ kill everything you love." Wally's looking down at him with a cheeky grin. His voice is as upbeat as it always is. "You're not going to save me, are you? You're not going to save anything."

It's then that Bruce notices the scarlet-clad corpse behind Wally, as well as his own lack of armor. Wally smirks. The hand on his shoulder moves with super-speed to backhand him. Bruce lands in the pool of his friends' blood, and Wally-but-it-can't-be saunters over to him. "You're going to lose this one, Bats," the thing hisses as its features distort, fading to black and red, "and it will cost you _everything._"

"No." Bruce denies, struggling as the monster pins him. His vision is fading out, his struggles slowing, but still he won't accept the things words. "No. No, no, no, no, _no!"_

"Bruce! Wake up! It's okay, it was just a nightmare!" He finds himself wrapped in a tight embrace. His so- Nightw- Di- The boy is holding him tight, rubbing circles on his back as if he were a child. He must have been the one to wake Bruce up. Bruce pulls his presence of mind together enough to push the other man away.

"Do you need something?"

Furrowed eyebrows obscure bright blue eyes in the boy's confusion (and that's too close to shock, too close to _fear_). "Wha- no! No. I just heard you struggling when I got up to get some water. It seemed unkind to leave you suffering."

That's… reasonably plausible. Bruce can allow this. Put it down to the boy's general kindness. Then he doesn't feel obligated to reciprocate; he doesn't have to care… "You did not need to embrace me." He responds gruffly.

The boy protests. "But hugs are good for you! They're clinically proven to chase away nightmares." The younger man crosses his arms and nods his head as if he were dispensing very serious wisdom for the ages. When Bruce doesn't acknowledge the boy's antics, he stops, shooting the older man a sympathetic look instead. "It's okay. My Bruce took a while to get used to them too. But I promise you'll sleep better!"

That's too far for Bruce. There is not going to be 'a while' of hugs and he will not 'get used' to them. The younger man has supposedly been working with Batman for years; he should recognize when he's not wanted.

Because it's not like Bruce liked the hug. It's not like being saved from his nightmares was nice. It's not like he need or _wants _a family.

Why doesn't the boy understand that?

"Was there anything else?"

"Do you want to talk about it? The nightmare?"

"I would rather sleep than waste time with pointless inanities." He grits out. "Perhaps you should return to your room?"

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Get. Out." Batman's command makes the younger man flinch back. It has to be Batman, now, because Bruce fears he would break under that wounded blue gaze if he didn't have the vigilante's cool logic to hold on to.

"Right," The boy whispers, sliding off the bed. "I'll be down the hall if you need me." He says over his shoulder as he shows himself out.

Finally alone, Bruce slumps back into his bed. He can feel the emotions trying to break through to the surface, so he clings to Batman's strength and recites case files to himself until he falls asleep.

The nightmare is back. Wally's dead. Clark's dead. Diana, J'onn, Shayera, and John, dead. Nightwing – Dick – is dead. The dream is stopped there though. There's a whisper of a lullaby in a language his brain says is Romani. He's aware enough to feel something warm wrap around him, though his mind settles back into sleep without even returning to full consciousness.

He sleeps peacefully through the night this time.

XxXxX

Conner has been across the stars and across dimensions, but he has never found a better place for moon-gazing than the roof of the Kent family barn.

"I thought I might find you here."

Clark's head pokes over the side of the roof, and Conner doesn't call the man on his ability to find him instantly with x-ray vision. Clark always forgets about those things when he's being _Clark _rather than Superman, doing things the old-fashioned way instead.

He makes no move to come closer, so Conner holds out his hand, inviting Clark onto the roof. Clark takes it, accepting the help up, as if he wasn't floating just below the roof's edge out of courtesy.

"It's, like, three-thirty in the morning. Why were you looking?"

Clark grins and rubs at the back of his neck. "Ma said you weren't in bed when she went to check on you, and wanted me to look for you."

"I'm in my twenties! Or my teens, depending on how you count my age… Either way, I'm not even her kid!" Conner says with exasperation.

Clark chuckles. "True, but she's a mom. You just sort of have to go with it. I mean, she still checks on me in the middle of the night. _Me." _Conner can't help but return Clark's grin.

"That is funny."

"Maybe we'll understand if we ever get to be parents."

"Never going to happen for you." The banter falls out of his mouth is so easily. More easily than he ever could have dreamed in those first months after Cadmus. "At least, not if you're anything like _my _brother. _Years _he's been working with Lois, and he still can't man up enough to ask her on out when he's not wearing the cape." Conner does not miss the Man of Steel's blush. "Oh, Rao! You're the same, aren't you? Poor Ma's never getting grandkids. No wonder she has to check up on us."

Clark tries to defend himself. "Well, I doubt _your _Ma's prospects look any better!"

"Actually, they're light-years better than _yours_. If M'gann and I ever get to spend more than a few days together in the same dimension, I'm more than ready to pop the question. J'onn briefed me on Martian bonding customs and Pa helped me pick out a ring an everything."

Clark watches the younger Kryptonian. His face is wistful, and Clark's heart aches a little for his younger brother's pain. "You all really put your lived on hold for this mission, didn't you?"

Conner shrugs. "I guess. Our lives were all pretty screwed up by the invasions anyways." That's an understatement I fther ever was one. Artemis and M'gann were declared dead. Kaldur was outcast from Atlantis. Dick gave up everything, from his dreams to his loved ones, so earth could pull through the invasions. The others lost everything that wasn't the team. Of course, _Conner's _whole life has been the team from day one. "It's not really a big deal in the scheme of things. We've all died for less."

That gets Clarks attention. "You've all _died?_"

_Tried to, more than once_. But Conner can't say that. Instead, he backtracks.

"We didn't _actually _die. Our minds just sort of… thought we did. It was just bad luck that our bodies tried to follow suit."

Clark is still looking at him like he's sprouted a second head, so he tries to explain. About watching their mentors and family die, one by one. About taking the burden of saving the world upon themselves. About sacrificing their lives – whether willingly, under orders, or because of deception – for what turned out to be pointless resistance.

"That's cruel. How could your League have done that to- to a group of _children_?" Clark wants to hug his little brother. No. He wants to throttle this other League. To put these bright, happy kids through every Leaguer's nightmare… to make them _live _it... He can't imagine what they were thinking. Why didn't someone _stop _them? It's amazing Wally – and his friends – are able to be happy at all.

Or maybe they're not. Maybe they were just trained at such a young age that they're better at keeping up the act, like the good little soldiers the League wanted them to be.

Clark feels sick.

Conner doesn't seem to share any of his turmoil, though. He just shrugs. "Sometimes the League makes mistakes."

He wants to disagree – they were _children, _after all – but Conner's face is open and kind. The younger Kryptonian bears no ill will towards his mentors. Clark thinks of disarmed nukes allowing invasion, of fighting with innocent Captain Marvel, and of weapons built into the Watchtower firing on civilians, and finds he can't _quite_ blame his counterpart without facing his own guilt. He _can_ allow himself to watch the younger heroes closely, though. He owes them that much.

"You're still frowning. Don't hold that against them, Clark. They're not bad people."

"I know, I know. It's just… interesting how different things can be between universes."

"No kidding. Your Lex Luthor seems psycho." The words come out before Conner really thinks about them. It's one of the things he was up here to contemplate, after all.

"Yours isn't?"

"…He's not all bad."

"Seriously? You're going to stand up for _Lex Luthor?_"

"Look, I know Lex isn't a good person. He's a pretty bad one, actually, and I'll never forgive him for the things he's put my friends through… but he's not a complete monster. He's… he's _human, _you know?" Conner knows he should stop there, but the pressure in his chest wants him to continue _so much… _so he does. "And… despite everything, he's still the first person that reached outand _tried _to be my dad it."

This time it's Clark's turn to tense up. How could he say that about _Lex Luthor?_

Conner hurries to explain. "Look. I know Lex isn't good at it, especially when he's following his own agenda, but he does _try _care for me. In his own way."

"When I graduated high school? I got a Lex Corp scholarship offer the day after getting my Ivy University acceptance letter, without any application. When I got captured by the Reach? He organized an unnecessary rescue party for me as part of his scheme to take War World for the Light. When Apokalips invaded? The troops at _my _insertion point were the only ones without Kryptonite weapons. And _every_ year, six weeks before the Fourth of July, expensive gifts show up at the League's hideout _du jour _with cards wishing me a happy birthday."

"That must give Batman an aneurism."

"Probably. Although with Batman, it's hard to tell if he's having a stroke or just trying to emote." Clark can't help but chuckle at that statement. It's not completely untrue. Still, though.

"Gifts don't make someone a good person.

"_I'm not saying he's a good person!" _Clark flinches back at Conner's vehemence, but the boy has already turned apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"No. I'm sorry. I've obviously hit a nerve." Ma always berates him for his stubbornness. He knows what his hatred of Lex Luthor could do, if it got out of hand. He knows he needs to control it. Yet here this amazing boy is, wrestling with his own demons while still trying to explain thigns to him, and Clark won't even hear him out. "Please, continue."

Conner is hesitant, but after a moment he nods. "I guess… the best comparison I have is with Kaldur. Black Manta did everything he could for his son. Defended him from other members of the Light, called in in all sorts of favors to heal his mind, always made sure his men used non-lethal force against him… Kaldur ultimately couldn't side with him, of course, but it still hurt _both _of them when that turned out to be the case."

If there's anything he's learned from seeing Artemis, from Kaldur… from Cam, it's that Dads can be evil and still care for their kids. Finding that it might apply to _himself _turned out to be the harder lesson. "The thing is… I'm pretty sure Lex would do the same for me."

"Mmm." Clark agrees, remembering his last heart-to-heart with his parents, discussing the blacks, whites and grays of morality. Was that only a week ago? So much has happened in that time. Clark has a wistful-looking little brother sitting next to him to prove it. "Do you care for him back?"

"…I don't want to."

"That's not a no."

"Look, I'm trying, okay?" Conner turns on him again. "Don't I keep saying I know he's a bad person? I mean, he got Wally killed! …Except that he didn't." Conner curls in on himself a little at the last admission, and Clark realizes what the real problem here is.

"And that changes everything, doesn't it?"

"Yes! Because killing Wally was that final, unforgiveable straw. I could finally say that Lex was irredeemable and that I shouldn't bother with him. That you and Ma and Pa are enough family. That he can't possibly be good, so I shouldn't _want _him in my life…"

Conner trails off, not wanting to go too far. This is not the kind of thing he's willing to cry over. Not when their lives are filled with so many _real _problems… It still hurts though.

Clark shifts closer so he can throw an arm around the smaller Kryptonian. He doesn't have words – he is _not _ready to stand up for Lex Luthor, but he can't dismiss his brother's pain off hand either – so they just sit there, watching the nighttime sky. It's so peaceful that Clark wished it were under better circumstances.

"Sorry for dumping all this on you." Conner mumbles after a while. It's more than audible to Kryptonian ears. "Normally I'd work this out with Dinah or M'gann, but with everything that's been going on… this has been my first chance to really breathe since we got Wally back." Clark gives him another squeeze at that. With his real strength, for once. It's nice.

"It's no problem," Clark says sincerely. "Isn't that what big brothers are for?"

"My Clark says big brothers are for making little siblings do their chores and eat their vegetables."

"Wise words. Think Kara would believe them?"

"Only if this world has weirder things happening than Lex Luthor having a heart." Conner's smile is weak, but Clark returns it anyways, in the kindest way he can.

"True, true. You ready to get off this roof? Ma'll have a fit if we're not in bed by the time she checks on us again."

"Yeah. Help me down?"

"Of course." Clark and Conner slip back into the house without further ceremony. Clark listens to Conner's breathing even out as the boy falls asleep. It takes him much longer to follow suit. His mind is racing with this new perspective of his arch-nemesis, and how it fits into Wally's death and the Question's doomsday predictions. He has a lot to think about.

For now, though, he can just tries to enjoy being home with his family, because having a little brother might be better than he ever dreamed.

XxXxX

**AN: **

Again, sorry this is SUPER late.

I don't know why this is a big deal to me, but it is. According to Askgreg, Spitfire's dog is named Bruce. *Head canon destroyed. Please wait for reboot.* Okay. Here's what happened. They're both on Wayne Scholarships to Standford, so they named him Bruce in B's honor. Yeah…. Well, gotto go fix 'Adaptations….'


	22. Integration

Ch 18: Integration

**AN: **I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I loved it when I wrote it… back around chapter two. Now that I've revised the heck out of it to fit the fact that it's chapter 18 instead of 8… I dunno. What do y'all think?

XxXxX

It takes them only moments to reach his rooms, once she mentions that _both _of them are capable of density shifting. He hides his reaction well, but even without her empathy she can see how startled he was by that reminder. It makes her curious. Who is this man with her Uncle's mindscape but not his mind?

Though M'gann doesn't dare intrude _into _her counterpart Uncle's mind, she can't restrain herself from feeling _around _it. The unique undercurrent of loneliness and sadness that pervades his feelings, despite the surface calm, fascinates her. She wants so much to soothe the hurt in the mind that feels so much like her Uncle's. She instinctively grabs his arm and leans in closer to him. He flinches, but doesn't try to shake her off. Again, her interest is piqued. What has he been through that such casual gestures are surprising?

"These are my rooms," he says somewhat hesitantly when they arrive. He seems unsure of what to do now.

"I see what you mean about the shielding." She tries to assuage his self-consciousness. "It's so… quiet here."

He nods his head in assent.

"Can… can we meditate now? I've missed your guidance _so_ much since we started this whole dimension-hopping thing."

"You would like me to join you? Truly?"

"If you don't mind, of course." She clarifies, remembering that this is not _her _uncle, and that she shouldn't be so familiar with him just because he's been kind to her thus far. "Sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"I do not mind." He cuts her off. No, J'onn does not mind this at all. He too, has missed partnered meditation. His mind has been empty of all but his own thoughts for so long… He's somewhat embarrassed of how out of practice he is, actually. "I might be more of a hindrance than a help, actually. It has been _many_ Mars cycles since I have last meditated with another."

She backpedals as his grief surges. "I'm so sorry, Unc- J'onn. I didn't mean to-"

"It is not your fault, M'gann." He soothes her worries. He tries not to dwell on how his heart skipped when she began to call him Uncle. "I am pleased to meet you, and proud to know how my kin might have turned out."

She drops her eyes at that, ashamed at the regard he has for her. It's one thing for the Team – her family – to forgive her. For this man – the counterpart to the loving Uncle whose kindness she'll never be able to repay, despite his protests to the contrary – to admire her is too much.

She replies in his mind out of reflex. _'You think too highly of me, J'onn.'_

_'I doubt that is true.'_

A sort of bitter disagreement swells through the link from her side. '_That is because you do not know me. You do not know the mistakes I've made.'_

_'Everyone makes mistakes. I myself have a fair share.'_

_'Few as egregious as mine, I am sure.'_

_'I would like to be the judge of that myself.'_

She hesitates. '_If I show you, it's only fair that you return the favor.'_

_'…If that is the price you ask for knowing you, I will gladly pay it.'_

She nods, and allows him to take her hands in his. They sit cross-legged, quickly floating off the ground as if this were any other meditation, only they hover right across from each other. With one last confirmation that _yes, this is okay_, they both lean in and touch their foreheads together.

Their minds meld.

_XxXxX_

_They're not expecting it._

She should have been expecting it.

_He hadn't been paying attention, simply enjoying an evening picnic with his wife on their balcony. Mars has been at peace for so long that they don't immediately understand what's happening when fire rains down upon them. _

She hadn't been paying attention, just following silently behind her sisters as always. This area has been segregated long enough that she should have known better than to enter.

_He's pulling his wife inside, scooping up their daughter. _

She's pulled roughly outside and thrown down onto the ground.

_His daughter is crying, and he holds her tight as they wait for the next explosion. When he glances at his wife, he sees fear. He can't hold her gaze, and looks away._

Her sisters have noticed the commotion now; how she's waiting for another blow, another taunt. They look away, embarrassed of her.

_They wait out the first attack in their basement, and survive the retreat to the city's center._

She can only wait for her attackers to tire of this so she can retreat to the city center, where all colors are allowed.

_They say things can't get any worse, but it gets harder to believe that every time._

She tries to remember that she's more than the color of her skin, but it's harder to believe that every time.

_The invaders have learned to shape-shift, and people are on edge. You can't trust anyone anymore. They develop passwords and codes as they learn to always ask who people are. _

She's learned how to patch herself up; it's better than feeling the shame in her family's mind when she come home in such a state. This way, her mother doesn't ask, and her sisters don't have to tell.

_Their measures fail. Their camp is infiltrated. They are betrayed._

She's too used to this treatment to even feel betrayed.

_It gets worse. Bloody battles rage. His family is in danger. They need to leave._

Things get worse. Racial tensions are high. Her family is uncomfortable with her. She needs to leave.

_He makes contacts with others who are fleeing. It will be a fight, but it's his only chance to get his family out._

She sneaks aboard her Uncle's ship to earth. It will be a fight to convince him of her worth, but it's her only chance to get away from_ this_.

_It is not as hard as it should be, to become violent. To fight back. To kill._

It is harder than it should be, to understand the rules that go with being a part of the League.

_He's lost contact with many of his old friends, but he has found new ones along the way._

She doesn't keep in contact with her family. The Team is her family now.

_The invaders keep coming, and the Martians fall one by one._

The invasion comes in their minds, and the League falls one by one_._

_"My'ria'h!"_

"Artemis!"

_His wife is gone; their daughter falls soon after. There is not hope for Mars now. He has nothing left to lose when he joins the resistance for one final, desperate assault._

Artemis is gone, then Kaldur. They pin their hopes on Wally's Zeta Beam theory. When he's wrong, there is nothing left to lose. At least he and Robin go down fighting together.

_They win. Their plan worked and the invaders are all paralyzed._

They win. The mother ship is destroyed.

_The cost was too high._

The cost was too high.

_He wishes it was a nightmare._

It hurts, even though it was a nightmare.

_He guards them, to keep them from hurting others._

She will protect them, and they will keep saving others.

_Time passes slowly. His people and world are dead; he's left only with his stagnant tormentors._

Time passes quickly. The Team and the world seem to be changing too fast.

_The invaders manage to leave their prison. He has no choice but to follow. He talks these other heroes into helping him, and he leads them into the fight._

Wally decides to leave the team. Artemis chooses to follow. Dick tries to talk them out of it, and it turns into a fight.

_They form a League and vow to protect this planet. Even Batman is willing to leave his preferred isolation for them. They are aliens, demigods and even simple humans, but they learn to fight as one. J'onn won't know until later that he was watching his family come together._

Zatanna and Raquel join the Justice League. Kaldur becomes withdrawn after Tula's death. One by one, her teammates are leaving, quitting, even dying. Her heart breaks as she watches her family fall apart.

_Things get harder and Flash becomes their precious light. One day, they learn just how mortal he is. J'onn can't stop his other self. 'They're just bad guys,' the Lords say, 'their lives are worth nothing for peace.' _

Conner is her one rock through it all, but now he's threatening to leave her too. She can't stop what she's doing though. They're just bad guys. Their minds are worth nothing next to her family.

_Batman has an idea, as always. It will be a hard fight, though, with so many of them outmatched by their counterparts. It would be simpler if they just end the Lords permanently. It would solve so many of their problems._

She has an idea. Conner just needs to forget he was mad at her and then everything will be okay again. It would be such a simple thing, really, and it would solve so many of her problems….

_It's a line he can't bear to cross._

She crosses the line.

_They've won. He never thought Superman would turn to Lex Luthor of all people, but it worked. The team becomes closer in their victory. He hasn't felt this connected since he was back on Mars._

She's ruined everything. He'll never forgive her, never love her again. She realizes she has no one to turn to. Not with the Team so distant nowadays. She's hasn't felt this alone since she was back on Mars.

_How dare Shayera betray them. They were supposed to be family. Instead, she brought invaders to their door._

How dare Kaldur betray them. They were supposed to be family. Instead, he killed their sister.

_But apparently they _were_ her family, and she came back to them. "I know what they're going to do."_

But apparently they _were_ his family; he had never left them. "What have you done?"

_They manage to stop them. Together. _

We can still fix this. Symbiosi.

_It's hard, after the Invasion. Shayera's gone, and they'll never be the same again. _

It's hard, after the Invasion. Wally's gone, and they'll never be the same again.

_But life goes on. With the threat of other invasions hanging over their heads, they expand the League, even though it increases the risk of betrayal._

Life goes on, and with the threat of the Light hanging over their heads, M'gann returns to her home world with her beloved in a desperate gamble for allies.

"_J'onn. We need to talk."_

"Conner, we need to talk."

_"I need to apologize. For lying. For betraying the League. For letting you down."_

"I need to apologize. For lying. For betraying your trust. For trying to alter your mind."

_"I know I can't make up for it. But even so, I'm rejoining the League. You all are my family and I want protect you. So it doesn't happen again."_

"I know I can't make up for it, but there are priests on Mars who can ward your mind, teach you to feel and eject intrusions. You mean so much to me, and I want you to be able to stop me so I can't do it again, even if I wanted to."

_"I forgive you. Isn't that what family does?"_

"I forgive you. I… I still love you, you know."

_Shayera is back. They are whole for the time being._

Dick comes back, but they aren't whole. Yet.

_Wally's missing, maybe dead, and there's nothing they can do to save him._

Something's trying to kill Wally in every dimension. Are you up to try and save him?

_Their Wally is returned, but it turns out he's not, in fact, theirs. His old team is here to save him. It changes everything._

Yes. Yes it does.

XxXxX

**AN: **Well, I officially fail at consistency. Confrontations- no quotes on thought speech. Realizations- double quotes. Here- single quotes. Whoops. I just don't have it in me to go back and change it though.


	23. Interlude: Damian Wayne

Interlude: Damian Wayne

**AN: **Sorry, I know y'all don't like interludes as much, but they're better than nothing, right? And they're so much easier for me. When I'm stuck or time crunched, I just pick a character and write. Hopefully this will tide you over for next week.

XxXxX

"You're not in charge of me, Drake!"

"Yes. I. Am." Tim is tired of this argument. Can't Damian just accept a 'no' for once? With the Team's founders gone, he has to keep on top of about ten things at any given moment. He hardly even has time for _Cassie _anymore, much less this. He has more important things to do than argue with his younger brother _again._ "You are a member of this team, and Aqualad made me leader-"

"Tt. As if that moping Atlantean could give you any power over me."

Tim clamps down on his outrage at that, and tries to channel Nightwing's calm reasonability. "B and Nightwing both support me in this," he grits out.

Damian looks away, domino mask furrowing. "Then Father can tell me that himself. I'll follow _his _orders."

Red Robin's voice follows him as he stalks towards the zeta tubes. "Impudent brat. Don't know _why _Dick puts up with you…"

Damian's ears aren't burning at that. They're _not._ It's the residual numbness from Zeta Particles, or something. The Replacement would probably be able to explain it to him, should Damian feel the information is important enough to condescend to the hyperactive speedster's level.

A voice calls out as he stalks into the Batcave's main area. "Whoa. Who're you going to kill _this _time?"

"As ever, Todd, your nonsensical attempts at humor fall flat." Damian scoffs at the former Robin sitting at the Batcave's mainframe. He's most likely studying case data again, trying to put together the years he lost between his death and resurrection.

Red Hood just rolls his eyes at the younger Wayne's disrespect. He's faced far too much in life to be riled up buy such little things. No, his irritation is reserved for his absent big brother only. "Right. I'll make sure Tim locks his door tonight."

Damian doesn't respond. He has more important things to do than rise to Todd's goading.

Drake denied his request to be added to the Anomaly Mission. Again.

As if some third-stringer who _stalked_ his way into the family had the right to tell him 'no'. Damian is an Al Guhl! The grandson of Ra's al Ghul himself. He's a Wayne! Batman's _biological _son. He was bred for greatness.

He knows he's living up to his legacy too; he's hacked the Team's records often enough to know that he's excelling at every solo evaluation that's been thrown at him.

That's why he knows it's not his abilities keeping him off this mission. '_You have school,' _Father says. '_Be a kid; spend time with the Team!' _Nightwing says.

Well, come summer neither Father nor Grayson could pin him with the responsibilities of 'school' and 'maintaining cover.' He's already drafted documents for a fake summer camp, to strengthen his argument on that front. And if they put him on this mission, he will be spending time with the Team. Well, some of them.

Of course, if his guardians remain obstinate, he's not above holding the replacement Kid Flash at sword point and forcing him make Damian his own TD tech. It shouldn't have to come to that though.

Damian always has a back-up plan, especially when dealing with a team leader that is as determined to restrict him as Drake is.

The newest Robin is nothing if not a good manipulator, and he's been twisting the knife of guilt into Allen's back for months now.

_They're out there risking their lives for analogues of _your_ cousin. The one that _you_ let die. The one _you _got killed?_

_What would _Wally_ say, if he knew that you were safe at home while his own girlfriend and best friend risked their lives? He would be so disappointed in his baby cousin, wouldn't he? And after he gave the little replacement his mantle and everything…_

_He might not be _that_ upset though. The older heroes are keeping us out of it, after all. There's no way for us to sneak across dimensions. It's not like you have the capability to create your own TD tech. Oh wait._

Artemis' disappearance couldn't have come at a better time. Damian hammered it in especially hard during that tense fortnight, finally breaking the speedster upon the good news of her safety. The boy had been forced to hide out at Artemis' apartment, returning only at the behest of the Beetle (and that was another issue he must contend with; the insect insisted on worrying for Bart's safety, as if that was what was important here).

To Damian, this was proof that the Replacement was broken, and that it should take only a few more cracks to have Allen working at his behest.

"Damian."

His father interrupts his thoughts as he steps out of grandfather clock that hides the Batcave. Damian turns and gives the man the full attention he demands. He tries to ignore the increasingly sharp lines and the dark circles around his father's eyes. They're due to extra stress from Drake and Todd's incompetence, no doubt.

"Yes, Father?"

The man peers at him for a moment before saying, "You should be nicer to your brothers."

Damian wants to protest – they're not his brothers – but the tension in his Father's face is too reminiscent of that in Grayson's. The retort dies on his tongue. Damian isn't some backwards commoner; he refuses to add stress to his Father's load the way the Reds insist on doing. He nods in acquiescence.

"As you say, Father." His father continues to study him. It makes Damian uncomfortable.

"We all miss him too, you know." Bruce finally says.

Damian denies it automatically. "I don't know what you're talking about." Even though he does. Isn't that the whole reason he wants on the Anomaly mission? So he can bring Grayson home?

"Don't give me that, Damian. You're too smart to be 'playing dumb.' It doesn't work for you the way 'Brucie' works for me."

It takes Damian a moment to realize that it wasn't a put down – the type of comment he's most used to. His father just _complemented _him, and he did it so casually, like it was natural...

There's a warm tingle in his stomach, the same as when Grayson holds him tight and calls him 'little brother.' Damian likes it. "I'll endeavor not to have 'ditzy playboy' as my cover role when I grow up, then." He retorts dryly, keeping that spark of joy out of his voice.

Bruce half-smiles at Damian's joke. Damian doesn't move as the man stands up and give him a hug. He endures the embrace for his Father's peace of mind. Said peace has been increasingly fragile as worry for his eldest son had increasingly disturbed Bruce's sleep.

"I remember when Dick was this size. You all grow up so fast. What am I going to do when you get older and go off on your own too?"

"Taking Oracle's position so I can operate as Batman in full most logical."

"There is that, I suppose." Bruce chuckles, and finally releases his son. "Go on now, do whatever you were doing. Don't let this old man's musings weigh you down."

Damian nods, and takes his leave of the den. He's more convinced than ever that he needs to be put on the Anomaly mission.

_Do you know what you're doing to us, Grayson? How much we love you, even if we're too broken to say it? Those imposter speedsters don't deserve you. Aren't _we_ your family?_

XxXxX

**AN: **I am so interested to know what you think here. I felt bad because a) Damian isn't technically from either of YJ or JLU's continuity and b) I've never read his comics, only fan fics with him in it. How did I do? Is he too OOC, considering how YJ differs form the Batman main timeline? Do you understand what's going on here, even if you're not familiar with Damian as a character?


End file.
